I  he  Saloon  Problem 
d  Social  Reform 


THE 
SALOOK  PROBLEM 

AND 

SOCIAL  REFORM 


BY 

JOHN  MARSHALL  BARKER,  PH.D. 

Professor  of  Sociology  in  the  School  of 
Theology,  Boston  University 


BOSTON,    MASS. 

THE    EVERETT    PRESS 

1905 


Copyright,  1905 
By  The  Everett  Press  Company 


Chapter  Page 

THE  PREFACE v 

THE  PROBLEM  STATED 1 

I.   THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECTS  4 

II.    THE  POLITICAL  ASPECTS  20 

III.  THE  SOCIAL  ASPECTS 36 

IV.  THE  CRIMINAL  ASPECTS  .  54 


The  Essential  Coordinating  Social  Forces  Involved 
in  the  Solution  of  the  Problem. 

V.    FEDERATED     MOVEMENT     OF     MORAL 

FORCES    73 

VI.   A  MEDIUM  FOR  UNITED  ACTION 86 

VII.    THE  FORMATION  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  102 
VIII.   ESSENTIAL    FACTORS     IN     LEGISLATIVE 

ACTION 125 

IX.    LAW  ENFORCEMENT  MADE  EFFECTIVE  .  147 
X.   THE  COORDINATING  POWER  IN  LEADER- 
SHIP    165 

XI.    SUBSTITUTES  FOR  THE  SALOON 179 

XII.    SIGNS  OF  PROMISE  .  196 


270134 


THE  PREFACE 

OCIETY  is  confronted  with  many  so- 
cial  problems.  None,  however,  chal- 
lenges the  attention  of  the  thoughtful 
and  patriotic  citizen  more  than  the  modern 
un-American  saloon. N,  A  brief  statement  of 
the  economic,  political,  social,  and  criminal 
aspects  of  the  problem  cannot  fail  to  deepen 
and  strengthen  the  conviction  that  we  are 
face  to  face  with  one  of  the  most  formida- 
ble foes  of  social  progress  recorded  in  the 
history  of  civilization.  In  the  preparation 
of  this  work  there  has  been  no  disposition 
to  unjustly  arraign  the  saloon  by  the  use  of 
partizan  statements  and  misleading  argu- 
ments. The  plain,  unvarnished  presen- 
tation of  facts  selected  from  the  common 
experience  of  every-day  life  is  damaging 
enough,  without  resorting  to  guesswork  and 
unwarranted  assumptions  in  order  to  chal- 
lenge attention  or  to  make  out  a  case.  Spe- 
cial effort  has  been  made  to  select  from  a 
large  number  of  twentieth-century  facts 
bearing  on  the  saloon  problem  a  few  of  the 
most  typical  and  pertinent,  in  order  that  the 


vi  THE    PREFACE 

time-pressed  citizen  and  student  may  have 
enough  accurate  and  authoritative  data  to 
enable  him  to  reach  his  own  conclusions. 

The  methods  of  solving  the  problem  de- 
mand special  attention.  In  attempting  this 
task,  no  effort  is  made  to  exploit  some  Uto- 
pian scheme  for  social  ills.  Any  extreme 
measures  based  on  partisanship  and  emo- 
tionalism, or  any  academic  theory  that  has 
not  been  tested  and  made  effective  in  the 
field  of  action,  will  fail  to  meet  the  present 
social  situation.  If  the  methods  advocated 
are  to  be  permanent  and  satisfactory  they 
must  be  buttressed  in  facts  and  imbedded 
in  human  nature  and  society  as  we  find 
them.  Each  of  the  essential  social  forces 
involved,  and  more  or  less  responsible  for 
the  continued  existence  of  the  saloon,  is 
discussed  in  a  separate  chapter.  The  pe- 
culiar significance  of  each  of  the  social 
forces  does  not  spring  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  new  or  startling,  but  from  its  coordinate 
relation  and  fresh  application  to  the  sub- 
ject. If  the  feeling  of  futility  is  to  give 
place  to  confidence  in  the  solution  of  the 
problem,  no  one  can  afford  to  be  ignorant 


THE     PREFACE  vii 

of  the  underlying  thought  and  meaning  of 
the  anti-saloon  movement  now  in  progress, 
which  is  steadily  gathering  volume  and  in- 
tensity throughout  the  nation.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  reader  will  be  incited  to  fur- 
ther research  of  the  subject  and  come  to 
have  a  stronger  impelling  motive  to  make 
social  action  measure  up  to  the  social  ideal 
in  civic  affairs. 


THE  PROBLEM  STATED 

THE  saloon  problem  is  one  of  sufficient  magni- 
tude to  demand  the  most  thoughtful  and  can- 
did consideration.  ( If  we  are  to  understand 
the  character  of  the  conflict  waged  against  the  sa- 
loon in  behalf  of  the  social  welfare,  it  is  important 
to  differentiate  between  the  saloon  as  an  institution 
and  the  personal  use  of  intoxicants  as  a  beverage. 

The  drink  traffic  is  separate  and  distinct  from  the 
drink  habit.  The  one  concerns  the  individual,  and 
the  other  pertains  to  society.  The  drink  traffic  is  a 
social  problem  of  a  moral  nature.  The  drink  habit 
is  largely  a  personal  question,  and  comes  within  the 
scope  of  each  individual  conscience.  The  drink  traf- 
fic helps  to  create  and  develop  the  drink  habit.  The 
one  is  cause,  the  other  effect.  The  drink  habit  is  an 
evil  of  a  personal  character  which  admits  of  an  indi- 
vidualistic treatment  by  moral  suasion,  while  the 
drink  traffic  occasions  social  disorders  that  demand 
treatment  by  legal  action.^ 

The  moral  aspects  of  the  drink  habit  may  no 
longer  be  considered  an  open  question.  History  and 
religion  accord  with  the  verdict  of  civilized  society 
to-day, —  that  the  drink  habit  is  an  evil  to  be  shunned 
by  all  who  regard  personal  moral  worth  and  social 
welfare.  The  leading  Christian  churches  enjoin  up- 
on their  members  total  abstinence  as  a  moral  duty, 
and  urge  the  legal  prohibition  of  intoxicants  as  a 
beverage.  Undoubtedly  the  beverage-drink  traffic 

1 


2  T  H  E    SALOON    PROBLEM 

is  a  complex  social  problem  with  many  ramifications. 
The  paramount  issue  is  whether  or  not  the  individ- 
ual shall  project  into  the  realm  of  society  his  personal 
privilege  in  the  use  of  intoxicants  by  opening  up  a 
saloon  to  traffic  in  vice  and  make  it  institutional  in 
character;  and,  further,  whether  or  not  this  same  sa- 
loon-keeper, with  the  view  of  extending  and  protect- 
ing the  traffic,  has  the  right  to  join  with  other  saloon- 
keepers and  form  a  strong,  compact  organization 
which  shall  seek  to  control  legislation,  intimidate  ex- 
ecutive officers,  and  by  its  united  political  and  finan- 
cial influence  threaten  the  peace  and  sanctity  of  the 
home,  and  defeat  the  suffrage  rights  of  the  people. 
It  is  plain  that  the  definite  issue  that  confronts  us  is 
not  whether  the  individual  shall  use  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage,  but  whether  the  saloon  as  a 
social  menace  shall  be  maintained  or  suppressed. 

No  one  should  be  diverted  or  side-tracked  by  fix- 
ing his  attention  upon  the  irrelevant  questions  of 
sumptuary  legislation,  personal  liberty,  or  the  prob- 
able value  of  the  beverage  use  of  alcoholic  liquors. 
The  all-important  question  centres  about  the  saloon. 
All  lovers  of  sobriety  and  social  order  may  agree  up- 
on this  point  of  view.  By  standing  upon  this  com- 
mon ground  they  may  bring  all  the  beneficent  social 
forces  into  union  for  a  strenuous  and  vehement  cru- 
sade against  the  saloon  as  the  enemy  of  social  well- 
being  and  progress. 

There  is  a  long  distance  ahead  before  men  will 
stop  the  beverage  use  of  intoxicants ;  but  it  has  been 
demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that  by  the  concerted 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  3 

action  of  the  moral  forces  the  saloons  may  be  effect- 
ually and  speedily  suppressed.  A  distinct  point  at 
least  is  gained  when  the  issue  is  thus  narrowed  down 
to  the  measure  of  available  and  workable  force  to  se- 
cure definite  results  for  saloon  suppression.  The 
concentration  of  the  attention  upon  the  saloon,  how- 
ever, should  in  no  way  weaken  the  effort  to  reform 
the  drunkard  and  to  stop  the  drink  habit.  Historic 
temperance  movements  in  this  country  have  cen- 
tred chiefly  about  the  pledge-signing  idea.  Earnest, 
burning  appeals  to  those  addicted  to  the  drink  habit, 
and  pledge-signing  work,  may  still  be  carried  on  by 
local  churches  and  temperance  societies  with  great 
profit.  These  efforts  may  be  made  an  effective  means 
of  creating  and  sustaining  public  sentiment,  which 
in  a  large  associate  way  will  make  itself  felt  for  the 
suppression  of  the  modern  saloon. 

Legal  action  and  moral  suasion  should  go  hand 
in  hand.  The  one  should  supplement  the  other. 
The  reclamation  of  the  drunkard  prepares  the  way 
for  moral,  religious,  and  social  transformation.  The 
spiritual  activity  in  church  circles  should  prompt  all 
communicants  to  try  to  check  the  drink-habit  tend- 
encies and  thus  cut  off  the  demand  for  the  artificial 
supply  of  intoxicants,  and  at  the  same  time  help  to 
federate  the  various  moral  and  social  agencies  for 
aggressive,  concerted  action  against  the  saloon.  Many 
lines  of  evidence  converge  to  confirm  the  belief  that 
there  is  enough  of  the  altruistic  spirit  and  intelligent 
interest  among  citizens  to  meet  the  social  demand 
that  the  saloon  must  go. 


THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECTS 

The  temperance  cause  is  the  foundation  of  all  social  and  polit- 
ical reform. —  RICHARD  COBDEN. 

If  we  could  make  England  sober  we  could  shut  up  nine-tenths 
of  her  prisons. —  CHIEF  JUSTICE  COLERIDGE. 

Every  year  I  live  increases  my  conviction  that  the  use  of  in- 
toxicating drinks  is  a  greater  destroying  force  to  life  and  virtue 
than  all  other  physical  evils  combined. —  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 

The  use  of  strong  drink  produces  more  idleness,  crime,  dis- 
ease, want,  misery,  than  all  other  cases  put  together. — LONDON 
TIMES. 

I  am  a  surgeon.  My  success  depends  on  having  a  clear  brain, 
a  steady  nerve,  and  firm  muscle.  No  one  can  take  any  form  of 
alcohol  without  blunting  these  physical  powers;  therefore,  as  a 
surgeon,  I  must  not  use  any  form  of  spirits. —  DR.  LORENZ. 

I  used  to  think  years  ago  that  so  long  as  I  left  the  saloons  alone 
they  would  leave  me  alone.  But  I  was  engaged  in  business  for 
twenty  years,  during  which  I  permitted  several  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  accounts  to  accumulate  on  my  books.  When  I  sold  out 
and  attempted  to  collect  these  I  found  they  were  worthless,  and 
that  nine-tenths  of  my  debtors  would  not  have  been  so  had  it  not 
been  that  they  had  been  spending  their  money  for  strong  drink 
while  I  was  keeping  their  families  in  provisions.  It  was  therefore 
apparent  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  been  the  greatest  patron 
of  the  saloons  in  our  community.  I  had  really  contributed  more 
to  the  saloon-keeper  than  any  other  person  in  town.  All  of  us,  no 
matter  how  temperate  we  are,  will  some  day  find  that  we  are  di- 
rectly concerned  in  the  saloon  traffic. — EX-GOVERNOR  LARRABEE, 
of  Iowa. 

If  there  is  in  the  whole  of  this  business  any  single  encouraging 
feature,  it  is  bound  to  be  found  in  the  gathering  impatience  of  the 
people  at  the  burden  which  they  are  bound  to  bear,  and  their  grow- 
ing indignation  and  sense  of  shame  and  disgrace  which  this  im- 
poses upon  them.  The  fiery  serpent  of  drink  is  destroying  our 
people,  and  now  they  are  awaiting  with  longing  eyes  the  uplifting 
of  the  remedy. —  MR.  JOSEPH  CHAMBERLAIN. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


Woe  to  him  that  buildeth  a  town  with  blood,  and  stablisheth 
a  city  by  iniquity ! 

Woe  unto  him  that  giveth  his  neighbour  drink,  that  puttest  thy 
bottle  to  him,  and  makest  him  drunken  also. —  HAB.  ii.  12,  15. 


THE  liquor  traffic  is  an  economic  as  well  as  a 
moral  problem.     A  careful  and  dispassion- 
ate consideration  of  its  economic  aspects  is 
essential  to  the  correct  solution  of  its  suppression. 
The  moral  and  remedial  agencies  involved  will  be 
reinforced  by  a  thoughtful  attention  to  this  phase  of 
the  problem. 

The  extent  and  magnitude  of  the  financial  in- 
vestments of  the  liquor  traffic  are  something  that 
astonish  and  bewilder  the  close  student  of  social 
and  economic  reforms.  The  statistical  data  in  the 
government  reports  pertaining  to  the  manufacture 
and  consumption  of  alcoholic  liquors  show  that  there 
were,  in  1900,  2,850  establishments  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  whisky,  beer,  and  wine,  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $457,674,087  invested  in  lands,  buildings, 
machinery,  tools,  and  implements.  This  sum  does 
not  include  the  capital  stock  of  the  various  corpora- 
tions, which  aggregate  several  hundred  millions 
more.  Apart  from  the  manufacturing  investments, 
the  imagination  is  staggered  at  the  sums  invested 
in  the  wholesale  and  retail  liquor  traffic.  According 
to  the  estimate  based  on  the  government  census  for 
1903,  the  whole  number  of  recorded  places  where 
liquor  is  sold  numbered  254,498.  It  is  difficult  to 
estimate  the  vested  interests  of  these  separate  estab- 
lishments engaged  in  the  liquor  traffic.  The  official 


THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 


government  report  for  1896  shows  that  161,483  sep- 
arate establishments  engaged  exclusively  in  the  liquor 
traffic  had  an  aggregate  investment  of  $957,162,907. 
Of  this  amount,  $412,188,729  represent  the  capital 
and  other  property  owned  by  those  carrying  on  the 
liquor  traffic,  and  $544,974,174  the  value  of  the  prop- 
erty rented  by  them.  The  same  report  goes  on  to 
show  that  there  was  an  army  of  434,274  proprietors 
and  employees  engaged  in  the  traffic.  This  does 
not  embrace  many  thousand  more  employed  where 
liquor  is  sold  in  connection  with  other  business,  nor 
the  employees  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
product.  The  Corn  Belt  (Chicago)  estimated  that 
in  1900  there  were  661,554  persons  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  liquor  in  the  United  States, 
or  about  one  to  every  one  hundred  and  sixteen  of  the 
population. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  men  will  invest  such 
large  sums  of  money  with  the  full  knowledge  that 
the  liquor  traffic  has  no  legal  standing  and  is  in  no 
way  connected  with  any  inherent  right.  All  the  right 
it  has  is  by  the  sufferance  of  the  several  State  Leg- 
islatures. The  constitution  and  laws  discriminate 
between  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  beverages  which 
minister  to  an  artificial  and  depraved  appetite  and 
the  trades  that  supply  the  necessary  and  imperative 
needs  of  human  nature.  The  latter  renders  service 
with  profit;  the  former  gets  profit  without  service. 
The  liquor  traffic  assumes  the  form  of  speculation, 
and  the  man  engaged  in  it  takes  his  own  chances. 
That  he  may  sustain  losses  when  the  saloon  is  sup- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


pressed  is  thoroughly  understood  by  him  before  he 
enters  the  trade,  and  there  is  no  moral  or  legal  right 
for  society  to  reimburse  him.  The  traffic  is  not  only 
under  the  ban  of  the  law  and  society,  but  it  consents 
annually  to  pay  into  the  government  treasury  a  direct 
tax, —  which  in  1903  amounted  to  $230,746,925,— 
besides  a  state,  municipal,  and  county  license  which 
aggregates  more  than  $100,000,000  additional.  No 
legitimate  business  would  submit  to  such  a  tax.  The 
only  way  the  traffic  can  maintain  itself  financially  is 
to  tax  its  patrons  and  prey  upon  their  depraved  and 
vicious  appetites  to  meet  the  demands. 

The  expansion  of  the  liquor  traffic  grows  all  the 
more  serious  when  we  consider  that  the  business  is 
tending  more  and  more  to  expand  and  to  centralize. 
The  manufacture  of  liquor  has  doubled  during  the 
last  fifty  years;  in  the  same  time  the  capital  invested 
has  grown  from  less  than  ten  million  to  more  than 
one-half  billion  of  dollars.  The  number  of  estab- 
lishments for  the  manufacture  of  beer  has  quadru- 
pled in  the  last  fifty  years.  The  average  amount  of 
capital  invested  has  increased  one  hundred-fold. 
One  typical  instance  will  show  the  general  trend. 
Seven  brewers  doing  business  in  Lucas  County, 
Ohio,  in  1901,  controlled  505  of  766  saloons  doing 
business  in  the  county.  Thus  a  few  men  have  the 
monopoly  of  the  trade  that  is  doing  so  much  to  blight 
and  destroy  the  virtue  and  honor  of  our  country. 

The  consumption  of  alcoholic  drinks  by  the  Amer- 
ican people  is  something  remarkable.  The  total 
amount  of  liquor  manufactured  in  1900  aggregated 


8  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

1,300,358,094  gallons.  This  vast  quantity  included 
103,330,423  gallons  of  distilled  spirits,  23,425,567 
gallons  of  wine,  and  1,198,602,104  gallons  of  malt 
liquors.  The  consumption  per  capita  of  all  kinds  of 
alcoholic  liquors  in  the  United  States  for  the  year 
1903  was  19.90  gallons,  of  which  18.04  gallons  were 
beer,  1.40  gallons  were  spirits,  and  0.49  gallons  were 
wine.  A  very  small  per  cent  of  these  quantities,  or 
about  eleven  million  gallons,  were  consumed  in  the 
arts,  manufactures,  and  for  compounding  medicine. 
For  all  liquors  the  consumption  has  increased  from 
4.17  gallons  per  capita  in  1840  to  19.90  gallons  in 
1903.  The  consumption  has  nearly  doubled  in 
twenty  years.  This  is  mainly  due  to  the  increased 
consumption  of  beer,  which  intensifies  the  drink 
habit  and  increases  rather  than  lessens  the  desire  for 
stronger  alcoholic  drinks.  These  beverages  are  in 
no  sense  indispensable  to  man's  health  or  happiness, 
and  there  is  no  legitimate  demand  for  their  produc- 
tion on  such  a  large  scale. 

The  magnitude  of  the  profits  of  the  liquor  traffic 
can  only  be  estimated.  It  is  generally  conceded  to 
be  very  large.  The  amount  of  money  paid  annually 
by  the  consumers  for  intoxicating  liquors  is  almost 
incredible.  According  to  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Internal  Revenue  in  1900,  the  value  of  the 
products  of  those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
whisky,  beer,  and  wine  was  $340,615,466,  and  the 
total  retail  monetary  value  of  these  liquors  aggre- 
gated $1,172,493,445.  The  national  drink  bill  of 
the  American  people  is  about  equal  to  the  total  re- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


ceipts  of  all  the  railways  in  the  United  States.  Com- 
paring it  with  the  expenditures  for  different  purposes, 
we  find  the  yearly  meat  bill  is  $915,000,000;  iron 
and  steel,  $600,000,000;  sawed  lumber,  $530,000,- 
000;  flour,  $370,000,000;  public  education,  $175,- 
000,000;  all  church  expenses,  $150,000,000;  missions, 
$5,000,000.  The  vast  amount  of  money  spent  for 
intoxicants  is  taken  from  the  people  without  any  re- 
turn of  value,  and  leaves  the  consumer  without  the 
power  to  purchase  the  necessities  and  comforts  of 
life.  Besides,  it  robs  legitimate  trade  from  many 
merchants  and  tradesmen  who  never  drink.  It  is 
also  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  indirect  cost  of  the  drink 
traffic.  Professor  Joseph  B.  Collins,  Ph.D.,  with 
painstaking  regard  for  accuracy  and  impartiality, 
made  a  study  of  the  cost  of  the  liquor  traffic  to  the 
nation  for  the  year  ending  June,  1903.  He  finds  the 
direct  net  cost  to  be  $1,023,441,790,  and  the  indirect 
cost  $684,070,000,  making  a  total  of  direct  and  indi- 
rect cost  of  $1,707,511,790.  Fernald  estimates  that 
the  cost  and  care  of  paupers  and  criminals  and 
the  loss  from  non-productive  labor  because  of  the 
business  amount  to  $800,000,000.  In  view  of  these 
startling  facts,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  suppression 
of  the  open  saloon  is  becoming  more  and  more  an 
economic  problem  of  vast  consequences. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt  that 
the  liquor  traffic  is  the  foe  of  the  wage-earner.  No 
well-informed  person  can  defend  for  one  moment 
the  liquor  traffic  on  the  ground  that  it  purchases 
large  quantities  of  materials  for  its  products  and  like- 


10  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

wise  promotes  the  employment  of  labor.  The  liquor 
industry,  with  its  gigantic  combinations,  purchases 
less  materials,  employs  fewer  men,  and  pays  a 
lower  rate  of  wages  than  any  industry  with  which  it 
may  be  equitably  compared.  It  ranks  the  lowest  in 
the  aggregate  number  of  wage-earners  in  a  list  of 
fifty-five  industries.  It  pays  only  8%  for  labor,  while 
the  general  line  of  manufactures  pay  20%  for  labor. 
If  the  consumer  pays  one  hundred  dollars  for  use- 
ful articles  he  will  give  employment  for  more  than 
eight  times  as  many  days;  he  will  pay  nearly  five  times 
as  much  wages;  and  he  will  demand  from  other  in- 
dustries four  and  one-half  times  as  much  raw  mate- 
rial as  if  the  one  hundred  dollars  were  spent  for 
liquor.  If  the  same  labor  and  money  expended  in 
carrying  on  the  liquor  traffic  were  employed  in  le- 
gitimate industries  to  increase  the  production  of  the 
necessaries  and  comforts  of  life,  the  benefits  accruing 
to  society  would  be  infinitely  greater  than  the  mere 
money  value  of  the  wages  and  liquor  consumed. 

Furthermore,  the  drink  habit  decreases  the  high- 
est industrial  efficiency.  The  production  of  wealth 
demands  the  expenditure  of  certain  physical,  men- 
tal, and  moral  energies  of  the  producer.  The  man 
who  deadens  his  sensibilities  and  undermines  his 
health  through  drink  does  not  have  the  fullest  exer- 
cise of  all  his  inherent  powers.  In  consequence  he 
will  turn  out  less  work  than  the  non-drinking  man, 
and  work  of  an  inferior  quality.  The  commercial 
supremacy  of  the  United  States  depends  upon  the 
sobriety  of  American  workmen.  If  they  are  to 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  11 

do  exact  and  precise  work  and  win  in  the  world's 
competition  their  brains  must  not  be  dulled  with 
alcohol.  Sir  Hiram  Maxim  once  said,  "The  Eng- 
lish workman  spends  a  great  part  of  his  earnings  in 
beer,  tobacco,  and  betting;  he  has  no  ambition.  .  .  . 
The  American  workman  wishes  to  get  on ;  he  accom- 
plishes a  great  deal  more  work  in  a  day  than  any 
other  workman  in  the  world." 

That  the  liquor  traffic  is  not  beneficial  to  the  gen- 
eral interests  of  the  wage-earner  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  the  great  corporations,  railroads,  banks,  and 
employers  of  labor  dare  not  trust  their  business  to 
the  men  .who  drink.  The  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  found  that  90%  of  railways,  79%  of 
manufactures,  88%  of  trades,  and  72%  of  agricultur- 
ists discriminate  against  employees  addicted  to  the 
beverage  use  of  intoxicants.  The  greatest  barrier 
to  wage-earners  in  general  and  to  the  elevation  of 
young  men  in  business  in  particular  is  the  drink 
habit,  which  is  created,  fostered,  and  encouraged  by 
the  saloons.  The  employer  who  wishes  honest  service 
does  not  select  for  important  places  of  trust  men  who 
frequent  saloons. 

The  worth  of  abstinence  finds  abundant  justifica- 
tion among  managers  of  the  railways.  They  regard 
even  moderate  drinking  as  harmful  to  the  service, 
and  are  trying  to  eliminate  the  danger.  The  Amer- 
ican Railway  Association  covers  160,000  miles  of  the 
202,492  main-track  mileage  in  the  United  States, 
and  employs  1,189,315  men.  The  Association  has 
adopted  a  set  of  standard  rules,  one  of  which  is :  "  The 


12  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

use  of  intoxicants  by  employees  when  on  duty  is  pro- 
hibited. Their  habitual  use  or  frequenting  of  places 
where  they  are  sold  is  sufficient  cause  for  their  re- 
moval." Nearly  all  the  great  railroads  of  the  coun- 
try have  adopted  even  more  explicit  and  drastic  rules 
than  the  one  mentioned.  The  majority  of  them  for- 
bid the  use  of  liquor  under  any  circumstances,  and 
make  it  a  sufficient  cause  for  discipline  or  discharge 
from  service. 

Abundant  evidence  may  be  had  to  show  that  the 
saloon  fosters  poverty  and  thriftlessness.  Poverty 
in  a  few  cases  is  the  result  of  unavoidable  circum- 
stances, but  by  far  the  larger  mass  of  poverty  comes 
through  idleness,  want  of  forethought,  and,  worst  of 
all,  drink  as  one  of  the  main  predisposing  causes. 
This  master  evil  tends  to  impoverish  men  so  that  they 
are  unable  to  buy  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  actual 
cases  of  poverty  which  have  been  investigated  in  a 
scientific  way  by  experts  in  many  leading  cities  in 
Germany,  England,  and  the  United  States  show  that 
drink  is  not  an  exciting  cause  but  a  contributory  in- 
fluence in  28.1%  of  the  cases  of  poverty.  Drink  as 
a  cause  of  poverty  is  summed  up  by  Charles  Booth 
in  his  masterly  wrork  on  "The  Poor  in  London"  in 
these  words :  "  Of  drink  in  all  its  combinations,  add- 
ing to  every  trouble,  undermining  every  effort  for 
good,  destroying  the  home,  and  cursing  the  young 
lives  of  children,  the  stories  tell  enough.  It  does  not 
stand  in  apparent  chief  cause  in  as  many  cases  as 
sickness  and  old  age;  but  if  it  were  not  for  drink, 
sickness  and  old  age  could  be  better  met."  In  his 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  13 

final  volume  on  "London"  he  says,  "The  smear  of 
drink  is  over  everything."  The  superintendent  of  the 
Milwaukee  poorhouse  says,  "  The  saloons  are  respon- 
sible for  more  than  two  thirds  of  Milwaukee's  county 
paupers."  The  president  of  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Charities  of  New  York  City,  referring  to  the  alms- 
house,  says,  "  Out  of  the  2,936  inmates,  2,729  were 
admitted  for  destitution;  they  were  just  helpless  in 
the  main  because  they  had  yielded  to  the  desire  for 
drink  until  long-suffering  friends  could  no  longer  bear 
the  burden  of  their  existence  and  had  to  turn  them 
over  to  the  State."  The  report  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Statistics  says :  "  Examining  the  statistics 
of  paupers  where  the  inquiry  covered  all  persons 
found  in  the  State  institutions  during  twelve  consec- 
utive months,  we  find  that,  excluding  minors,  about 
seventy-five  persons  in  every  one  hundred  among 
the  paupers  of  the  State  were  addicted  to  the  use  of 
liquor,  and  three  fourths  of  these  used  all  kinds,  or 
at  least  two  kinds,  of  liquor.  Nearly  one  half  of  the 
paupers  had  one  or  both  parents  intemperate.  About 
thirty-nine  in  every  hundred  attributed  pauperism 
to  the  intemperance  of  parents."  Bear  in  mind  that 
the  army  of  paupers  are  not  only  withdrawn  from 
the  productive  force  of  the  community,  but  the  sober 
citizens  are  taxed  to  maintain  them. 

Look  at  the  problem  from  another  angle.  The 
per  capita  cost  of  intoxicating  liquors  for  1903  was 
$17.85,  or  about  $90  on  the  average  for  each  family. 
Since  there  is  a  vast  army  of  abstainers  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  evident  that  some  people  must  consume 


14  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

a  large  amount  of  liquor  at  great  cost.  A  typical  in- 
stance of  the  way  the  money  of  many  wage-earners 
is  spent  in  the  saloon  is  given  by  a  business  manager 
who,  in  speaking  before  the  State  Board  of  Arbitra- 
tion in  Denver  regarding  the  employees  of  the  Amer- 
ican Smelting  and  Refining  Company,  said,  "Fifty 
per  cent  of  the  checks  paid  to  our  employees  for  years 
back  have  been  cashed  by  saloon-men,  and  the  can- 
celled checks  will  show  it.  Over  $2,500,000  of  the 
concern's  money  has  been  paid  out  over  the  saloon 
bars,  amid  the  fumes  of  whisky  and  beer."  The 
large  sum  of  money  taken  by  the  saloon  from  the 
pockets  of  the  poor  is  a  process  that  has  the  economic 
feature  of  robbery.  If  the  ten  cents  spent  a  day  for 
intoxicants  were  saved  and  put  on  interest  at  the  end 
of  each  year,  at  5%,  at  the  end  of  ten  years  it  would 
amount  to  $405;  twenty  years,  $1,120;  twenty-five 
years,  $1,630.  The  general  testimony  is  that  the 
economic  condition  of  the  tippler  and  the  drunkard 
is  too  frequently  the  result  of  money  wasted  on  drink. 
When  the  money  is  gone  and  the  drink  habit  is  fixed 
the  man  in  his  poverty  and  despair  seeks  the  saloon 
to  drown  his  misery  in  drunken  unconsciousness.  He 
is  thus  led  to  seek  refuge  in  the  very  evil  which 
caused  it.  If  the  wage-earners  could  be  induced  to 
save  the  money  spent  for  strong  drink,  and  pool  their 
interests,  they  could  in  a  comparatively  short  time 
buy  the  leading  industries  of  the  country  and  become 
themselves  socialists,  capitalists,  and  manufacturers. 
The  cost  of  crime  occasioned  by  the  liquor  traffic 
is  an  element  pervading  the  whole  budget  of  taxation. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  15 

The  extent  of  taxation  directly  chargeable  to  crime 
for  the  whole  country  is  more  than  $200,000,000. 
The  cost  of  crime  in  the  city  of  New  York,  paid 
from  city  and  county  taxation,  is  over  $20,000,000 
out  of  a  total  list  of '$90,000,000.  The  New  York 
State  Prison  Commission  reports  that  the  commit- 
ments to  jail  for  intoxication  for  1903  were  28,515, 
and  3,315  to  the  penitentiaries,  making  a  total  of 
31,830  for  the  offence  of  drunkenness.  Much  of  the 
time  consumed  in  the  criminal  courts,  and  one-half 
of  the  expense,  are  occasioned  by  the  maintenance 
of  this  class  of  offenders.  The  highest  official  au- 
thority shows  that  in  1903  there  were  twenty-three 
prohibition  counties  in  Texas  that  had  no  convicts 
in  the  penitentiary,  and  nine  with  only  one  convict 
each.  In  thirty-nine  prohibition  counties  there  are 
only  twenty-three  convicts  in  all.  The  majority  of 
the  jails  in  Kansas  are  without  a  single  inmate.  Forty 
counties  in  Kansas  do  not  have  a  pauper.  In  Massa- 
chusetts 55%  of  the  population  is  under  high  license. 
That  55%  furnishes  80%  of  the  crime  of  the  State. 
According  to  the  state  and  county  records,  the  direct 
cost  of  the  liquor  traffic  is  five  times  as  much  as  all 
license  fees. 

The  sober  people  of  the  State  must  bear  the  cost 
of  the  detectives,  police,  and  prosecuting  officers. 
The  least  that  ought  to  be  expected  is  that  the  legis- 
lation that  regulates  the  liquor  traffic  should  make 
the  same  amenable  to  general  business  principles. 
Each  business  must  bear  its  own  losses  and  repair 
any  damages  it  may  inflict  upon  individuals  or  upon 


16  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

the  community.  The  owner  of  a  dog  that  kills  a 
sheep  must  pay  for  it.  If  a  mill-dam  destroys  prop- 
erty the  loss  must  be  made  good,  and  the  one  who 
alienates  the  affections  of  husband  or  wife  is  held  re- 
sponsible before  the  courts.  By  the  same  parity  of 
reason,  citizens  should  demand  that  the  liquor  traffic 
bear  all  judicial,  legislative,  criminal,  and  other  costs 
involved  in  the  trade.  The  saloon  performs  no  serv- 
ice to  the  community  whereby  it  can  claim  that  the 
citizens  be  taxed  to  pay  the  bills  incident  to  the  traf- 
fic. It  should  sustain  the  large  proportion  of  inmates 
in  the  poorhouses,  jails,  state  prisons,  and  asylums. 
It  ought  to  make  good  the  damage  resulting  from 
each  sale  of  liquor.  Official  statistics  of  the  several 
States  should  determine  the  basis  of  action.  If  this 
valid  business  principle  were  rigidly  applied  by  those 
in  authority  the  saloon  would  soon  be  taxed  out  of 
existence. 

The  Illinois  Dramshop  Act  holds  the  saloon- 
keeper liable  for  injuries  in  person  or  property  sus- 
tained by  any  one  through  the  sale  of  liquor  by  him. 
The  Appellate  Court  of  Illinois,  in  a  decision  recently 
handed  down  (1904),  went  so  far  as  to  hold  that  "a 
saloon-keeper  is  liable  for  the  death  of  a  patron  while 
under  the  influence  of  liquor  sold  by  him." 

The  economic  bearing  of  the  saloon  on  the  fi- 
nancial growth  and  development  of  a  community 
must  have  a  passing  notice.  Notwithstanding  the 
refutation  to  the  contrary,  some  people  make  them- 
selves believe  that  the  revenue  from  the  saloon  is  a 
good  investment  for  towns  and  cities.  On  the  sur- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  17 

face  this  statement  may  seem  plausible,  but  on  a 
deeper  inquiry  it  will  be  found  that  owing  to  the 
crime,  depredations,  and  social  disorder  growing 
out  of  the  saloon,  an  additional  police  force  is  re- 
quired, more  arrests  are  made,  and  jail  and  court 
expenses  are  multiplied.  Almshouses,  asylums,  and 
public  charities  naturally  follow  in  the  wake.  All 
these  increase  the  taxes  and  deplete  the  resources  of 
a  community.  Numerous  concrete  facts  and  reliable 
statements  might  be  given  to  refute  the  specious  argu- 
ment that  saloons  benefit  a  community.  Take  a  typ- 
ical instance.  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  with  a 
population  numbering  about  100,000,  voted  out  the 
saloons  in  1885.  A  large  and  increasing  majority 
of  the  voters  are  convinced  by  experience  that  busi- 
ness has  improved  and  that  the  municipality  is  bet- 
ter served  by  local  prohibition.  Under  license  from 
1875  to  1885  the  valuation  of  property  decreased 
about  $3,000,000.  Since  liquor-selling  was  forbid- 
den the  increase  has  been  more  than  $36,000,000. 
Not  only  has  the  population  doubled,  but  the  aver- 
age savings-bank  deposit  has  trebled.  The  mayor 
of  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  recently  said,  "Since  the 
forty  saloons  were  driven  out  of  the  city  it  has  pros- 
pered far  better  than  it  ever  did  before.  Instead  of 
being  depopulized,  it  has  more  than  doubled  in  pop- 
ulation since  the  saloon  left  us."  The  city  of  Hoopes- 
ton,  Illinois,  has  been  without  a  saloon  since  1887. 
The  city  is  very  prosperous,  and  the  rate  of  taxation 
is  but  .013  of  the  actual  valuation.  Note,  again,  that 
for  self-protection  against  the  demoralizing  influ- 


18  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

ences  of  the  many  saloons  at  Bremerton,  Washing- 
ton, in  1902,  the  Navy  Department  decided  to  send 
no  more  warships  for  repairs  to  that  port.  This  ac- 
tion aroused  the  people  and  city  authorities  to  ban- 
ish the  saloons  and  to  pledge  the  government  that 
the  law  would  be  faithfully  enforced.  The  revenue 
arising  from  the  beverage  sale  of  spirituous  liquors 
is  small  when  compared  with  the  increasing  revenue 
derived  from  sober,  industrious  citizens.  Indeed, 
in  no  sense  is  the  revenue  from  the  saloons  an  asset 
over  against  the  social  misery  and  drunkenness  pro- 
duced. 

The  unwarranted  assumption  that  saloons  pro- 
mote business  has  been  disproved  over  and  over 
again.  Each  community  has  a  certain  definite  in- 
come, made  up  of  the  aggregate  income  of  the  several 
individuals  comprising  it.  Consequently  there  is  just 
so  much  money  in  a  community  to  spend  for  legiti- 
mate trade  and  the  comforts  and  necessaries  of  life. 
It  stands  to  reason  that  the  prosperity  of  the  commu- 
nity does  not  hinge  on  a  few  saloons.  The  more 
money  spent  for  liquor  the  more  impoverished  the 
drinkers  become  and  the  less  there  will  be  to  spend 
for  the  more  needful  comforts  of  the  home.  The 
wage-earners  that  are  encouraged  in  sobriety  and 
habits  of  thrift  and  saving  will  earn  more  and  have 
more  money  with  which  to  erect  homes,  buy  com- 
forts, and  contribute  to  the  permanent  growth  of  the 
community.  Most  of  the  money  spent  in  the  saloon 
goes  to  pay  the  distant  brewery  or  wholesaler  for 
stock,  and  consequently  never  enters  the  legitimate 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  19 

business  of  the  town.  The  saloon-keeper's  family 
does  not  spend  anything  like  the  amount  of  money 
for  the  necessaries  of  life  that  the  families  impover- 
ished by  the  saloon  would  spend.  Another  impor- 
tant fact  is  worthy  of  mention.  Real-estate  men  re- 
gard the  saloon  as  a  nuisance.  The  inevitable  effect 
is  to  depreciate  property  all  about  it.  The  restricted 
areas  in  the  residential  districts  of  our  large  cities 
are  in  demand.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rum-ridden 
wards  of  a  city  depreciate  the  value  of  real  estate  in 
the  immediate  vicinity.  The  license  fees  of  the  saloon 
cannot  compensate  for  the  loss  in  taxable  values.  The 
man  who  seriously  advocates  saloons  on  the  ground 
of  increasing  the  business  of  the  community  either 
has  not  attained  intellectual  maturity  or  else  refuses 
to  be  governed  by  the  logic  of  facts.  His  spirit  of 
commercialism  has  smothered  his  moral  sense.  The 
old  delusive  statement  of  the  evil  one  that  "  it  is  good 
for  food"  has  blinded  him  to  the  larger  social  vision. 
A  comparative  study  of  the  financial  and  moral 
condition  of  license  and  no-license  towns  and 
cities  ought  to  make  evident  the  fact  that  the  way  to 
prosperity  and  happiness  is  through  the  annihilation 
of  the  liquor  traffic.  The  culminative  evidence 
against  the  saloon  reinforces  the  conviction  that  since 
the  economic  law  and  the  moral  law  spring  from  the 
same  source,  both  are  factors  of  the  widest  import  in 
dealing  with  the  saloon  problem. 


20  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  POLITICAL  ASPECTS 

It  is  impossible  for  men  engaged  in  low  and  groveling  pursuits 
to  entertain  noble  and  generous  sentiments. —  DEMOSTHENES. 

It  is  an  absolute  necessity  that  we  join  hands  and  act  as  a  solid, 
impenetrable  body,  for  the  chance  of  being  legislated  out  of  busi- 
ness that  we  escaped  is  too  recent  to  have  been  forgotten,  and  the 
very  apparent  activity  of  our  common  adversary,  the  Anti-Saloon 
League,  who  are  already  preparing  for  the  next  campaign,  which 
promises  to  be  warmer  than  the  last. 

This  they  can  only  accomplish  because  they  are  unanimous 
therefor;  let  us  work  until  we  have  each  and  every  one  interested 
in  our  business  in  the  ranks;  let  us  work  together. —  CHICAGO 
LIQUOR  DEALERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

Partizanship  is  a  good  thing  sometimes,  but  patriotism  is  a 
better  thing  all  the  time.  Partizanship  is  well  enough  when  it  does 
not  conflict  with  patriotism,  but  patriotism  is  a  higher  virtue  than 
partizanship.  The  legislator  who  sells  his  vote  traffics  in  the  honor 
of  a  sovereign  people  and  prostitutes  the  trust  reposed  in  him. 
There  can  be  no  offense  which,  if  allowed  to  go  on,  is  fraught  with 
graver  consequences.  It  is  more  fatal  to  civic  life  than  any  other 
crime,  for  it  pollutes  the  stream  of  law  at  its  source.  It  makes  the 
passage  of  laws  mere  matters  of  bargain  and  sale,  thwarts  justice, 
enthrones  iniquity,  and  renders  lawful  government  impossible.  If 
all  official  acts  were  for  sale  we  would  have  a  government  not  of, 
for,  and  by  the  people,  but  a  government  of,  for,  and  by  the  few 
with  wealth  enough  to  purchase  official  favor.  It  is  the  highest 
duty  of  every  legislator,  of  every  official,  and  of  every  citizen  to  do 
all  that  he  can  to  eradicate  this  evil,  which  is  the  greatest  enemy  to 
free  government  and  the  greatest  danger  that  confronts  this  nation 
to-day.  It  is  not  always  by  taking  money  that  an  official  may  pros- 
titute" his  trust.  He  does  it  whenever  he  uses  the  power  given  him 
to  be  exercised  for  the  public  good  for  any  other  purpose.  An 
official  can  embezzle  public  power  as  well  as  public  money. — 
GOVERNOR  FOLK,  of  Missouri. 

"No  man  is  free  who  is  not  master  of  himself;"  no  voter  is  free 
who  is  not,  in  truth  and  not  in  mere  semblance,  master  of  his  vote; 
no  people,  whatever  the  name  or  form  of  its  government,  is  free 
unless  its  rulers  are  those,  and  those  only,  it  would  have  as  rulers. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


If  its  action  be  hampered,  its  wishes  be  overridden,  in  their  choice, 
whether  this  constraint  be  the  work  of  a  foreign  conqueror,  a  legal 
autocrat  or  oligarchy,  or  an  extra-legal  ruler  or  ruling  body,  a 
"boss,"  or  a  "ring,"  a  "machine,"  or  an  "organization,"  then  in 
all  these  cases  alike  the  result  is  the  same:  the  people  is  not  free; 
a  community  thus  governed  has  not  self-government.  —  CHARLES 
J.  BONAPARTE. 

The  most  powerful  saloon-keepers  controlled  the  politicians 
and  the  police,  while  the  latter  in  turn  terrorized  and  blackmailed 
all  other  saloon-keepers.  If  the  American  people  do  not  control 
it,  it  will  control  them.  —  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT,  when  Police 
Commissioner  of  New  York  City. 

The  saloon  ever  has  been  and  always  will  be  a  corrupt  ele- 
ment in  politics.  —  JUSTICE  GRANT,  of  the  Michigan  State  Court. 

They  are  slaves  who  fear  to  speak 

For  the  fallen  and  the  weak; 

They  are  slaves  who  will  not  choose 

Hatred,  scoffing,  and  abuse 

Rather  than  in  silence  shrink 

From  the  truth  they  needs  must  think. 

They  are  slaves  who  dare  not  be 

In  the  right  with  two  or  three. 

—  JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL. 


THE  saloon  likewise  has  pronounced  and  def- 
inite political  aims.    Few  people  in  this  coun- 
try have  any  adequate  comprehension  of  the 
hold  the  saloon  has  obtained  upon  our  political  sys- 
tem.   Its  influence  is  felt  in  local,  state,  and  national 
politics.    The  legislative  battles  in  Congress  and  in 
the  several  State  assemblies  for  restriction  or  sup- 
pression of  the  saloon  show  that  we  are  in  the  midst 
of  an  irrepressible  political  conflict  with  a  dangerous 
enemy  of  civil  government  and  free  institutions. 

The  political  offensiveness  of  the  saloon  arises 
from  the  fact  that  its  interests  are  placed  above  state 
and  national  affairs.  Every  fair-minded  and  patri- 


22  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

otic  man  who  enters  upon  a  political  career  is  "  most 
critically  scrutinized"  by  the  saloon  element,  and  is 
expected  to  pass  the  test  of  loyalty  which  they  de- 
mand. The  entire  weight  of  the  saloon  interests  is 
thrown  into  the  scale  to  secure  statutory  measures 
for  the  saloon  trade.  Consequently  the  saloons  en- 
dorse and  fight  for  candidates  pledged  to  pro-liquor 
legislation.  The  aggressive  political  action  of  the 
saloon  forces  to  dictate  nominations  and  defeat  can- 
didates who  are  not  committed  to  their  interest  vir- 
tually defies  the  whole  community.  Public  officials 
pledged  to  the  saloons  cannot  discharge  their  moral 
obligations  and  are  thereby  disqualified  for  work  in 
the  interests  of  their  constituents.  If  such  interfer- 
ence in  politics  were  carried  on  by  any  legitimate 
industry  or  trade  it  would  call  forth  very  pronounced 
expressions  of  disapproval. 

We  are  officially  advised  by  the  saloon  leaders  as 
to  their  political  program.  We  let  them  speak  for 
themselves. 

The  National  Retail  Liquor  Dealers'  Association 
recently  met  in  Baltimore  and  declared  their  polit- 
ical attitude  in  the  following  omni-partisan  language : 
"The  brewers  should  imitate  the  example  of  the  Re- 
tail Liquor  Dealers'  Association  and  support  those 
in  either  party  who  support  them,  irrespective  of  po- 
litical differences." 

The  New  York  Liquor  Dealers'  Association,  at 
their  meeting  held  in  Utica,  September,  1902,  passed 
these  significant  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  That,  having  attained  a  position  of 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


power  and  influence,  as  herein  set  forth,  through  a 
faithful  adherence  to  our  original  declaration  of 
principles,  '  to  lay  aside  our  individual  political  pref- 
erences and  to  lend  our  aid,  influence,  and  votes  to 
defeat  any  and  all  candidates  for  offices  of  public 
trust  who  will  not  give  positive  and  public  assurance 
of  their  willingness  to  urge  and  vote  for  such  just 
and  equitable  laws  to  which  we,  as  good  citizens  and 
honest  merchants,  are  entitled;' 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  now  our  manifest  duty  to 
make  use  of  the  strength  which  we  unquestionably 
possess  to  make  strenuous  efforts  for  the  election  of 
legislators  pledged  to  our  interest,  that  we  may  be 
enabled  in  the  near  future  to  secure  such  favorable 
legislation  as  the  condition  of  our  trade  so  imper- 
atively demands." 

The  liquor  organ,  The  Knights  of  Fidelity  News, 
exhorts  its  readers  thus:  "A  State  Legislature  is  to 
be  elected,  and  it  is  up  to  the  liquor-men  themselves 
to  see  that  individuals  who  would  if  they  had  power 
crush  their  business  out  of  existence  do  not  secure 
seats  in  that  body.  By  working  shoulder  to  shoulder 
they  can  demonstrate  their  strength  to  the  two  great 
political  parties,  and  secure  the  defeat  of  men  of  this 
stripe  at  the  primaries."  The  Grand  Valiant  Com- 
mander of  the  Knights  of  Fidelity,  in  a  circular  let- 
ter of  advice  to  its  members,  of  December,  1903,  says: 
"In  influencing  legislation  for  our  own  benefit  and 
protection,  union  is  strength  and  numbers  count  for 
a  great  deal  more  than  money.  Attend  all  conven- 
tions, and  see  that  you  get  a  liberal  and  fair-minded 
class  of  men  nominated  on  your  legislative  ticket." 


24  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

The  central  object  of  these  official  utterances  was  to 
try  to  get  control  of  the  Legislature  of  Indiana. 

The  Liquor  Dealer  says :  "  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
liquor-men  throughout  the  country  to  'spot*  every 
congressman  and  member  of  the  Legislature  who  is 
suspected  of  strong  temperance  proclivities  and  ex- 
ert themselves  to  the  utmost  to  defeat  him." 

These  statements  are  typical  of  scores  of  others, 
and  they  reveal  the  political  despotism  of  the  saloon. 
The  worthy  candidate  for  public  office  must  en- 
counter the  organized  and  determined  opposition 
of  the  saloon-keeper.  Not  satisfied  with  packing 
the  various  positions  of  public  trust,  they  resort  to 
legislative  juggling  and  administrative  trickery  to 
accomplish  their  purpose. 

The  saloon  in  politics  is  the  more  formidable  by 
reason  of  its  solid  and  compact  organization  and 
association.  The  liquor-traffic  interests  have  been 
organized  as  a  ring  in  politics  for  years.  In  1903  a 
bold  step  was  taken  to  mass  the  saloon  forces.  An 
organization  representing  saloon  interests  was  formed 
for  political  action  throughout  the  United  States.  The 
three  leading  organizations  are  the  Knights  of  Fidel- 
ity, the  Knights  of  the  Royal  Arch,  and  the  National 
Retail  Dealers'  Association,  claiming  a  united  mem- 
bership of  150,000.  These  organizations,  without 
losing  their  identity,  are  amalgamated  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  National  Liquor  Dealers'  Association 
of  America.  It  is  to  be  kept  together  intact  "after 
the  method  of  the  big  political  parties"  of  the  United 
States.  "One  of  the  principal  objects  of  this  new 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  25 

organization  is  to  fight  unfair  legislation  and  throw 
the  mantle  of  protection  about  its  members  in  every 
possible  way."  Attorneys  and  political  henchmen 
are  to  be  employed  to  look  after  the  association's 
interests  in  Congress  and  the  various  State  Legis- 
latures. 

A  circular  of  the  Wholesale  Liquor  Dealers'  Asso- 
ciation, under  date  of  Dec.  20,  1904,  gives  official 
expression  to  its  political  activity  in  these  words: 
"Congress  is  now  in  session.  Conditions  require 
us  to  be  watchful  of  trade  interests,  and  our  best 
efforts  are  being  exerted  in  your  behalf.  This  associ- 
ation has  accomplished  a  great  deal  for  the  entire 
trade.  It  has  prevented  the  passage  of  the  Hepburn- 
Dolliver-Prohibition  Bill,  aiming  at  National  Pro- 
hibition, and  the  McCumber  substitute  for  the  Hep- 
burn Pure-Food  Bill,  containing  certain  provisions 
discriminating  against  whisky." 

Under  date  of  Oct.  25,  1904,  a  circular  of  the 
same  association  says:  "With  inimical  state  and  na- 
tional legislation  threatening  the  trade,  and  constant 
annoyances  from  other  quarters,  the  necessity  for 
organized  effort  is  self-evident.  The  hostile  measures 
we  successfully  prevented  passing  Congress  at  the 
last  session  will  again  be  brought  up  this  winter.  We 
must  continue  our  active  opposition,  and  we  need 
your  support.  Don't  hold  back.  Your  adhesion 
means  more  power  to  us  and  added  protection  to  you." 

In  order  to  provide  funds  for  the  use  of  the  united 
liquor  societies  all  wholesale  dealers  must  place  "a 
one-cent  label  on  every  case  of  wine,  a  two-cent 


THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 


stamp  on  every  imported  case  of  wine,  and  a  five- 
cent  stamp  on  every  barrel  of  goods.  The  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  these  labels  are  to  be  placed  in  a 
fund  that  will  be  used  to  fight  legislation  inimical  to 
the  interests  of  the  trade."  It  is  estimated  that 
$5,000,000  will  thus  be  raised  to  corrupt  the  machin- 
ery of  government. 

The  growth  of  joint  stock  companies  has  strength- 
ened the  liquor  interests.  The  concentrated  owner- 
ship and  control  of  the  entire  traffic  makes  the  sa- 
loon economically  and  politically  stronger  and  more 
dangerous  than  before.  Many  of  the  saloon-keepers 
Jiave  very  little  liberty  of  action.  The  complete  sys- 
tem of  the  liquor  ring  enables  it  to  control  by  influ- 
ence the  grant  and  transfer  of  licenses,  and  not  in- 
frequently to  help  place  unworthy  men  in  public 
positions,  with  the  view  of  making  as  well  as  admin- 
istering the  liquor  laws.  The  United  States  Brew- 
ers' Association,  the  National  Wholesale  Liquor 
Dealers'  Association,  and  the  National  Retail  Liquor 
Dealers'  Association  have  well-recognized  bureaus 
at  Washington  working  to  protect  the  trade.  Their 
paid  attorneys  and  lobbyists  are  present  at  the  vari- 
ous hearings  in  Congress  with  petitions  and  means  to 
defeat  threatened  hostile  national  legislation,  and  to 
secure  advanced  measures  favoring  the  liquor  traf- 
fic. The  Protective  Bureau  of  the  National  Whole- 
sale Liquor  Dealers'  Association,  reporting  for  the 
year  ending  June,  1904,  declares  that  in  one  year 
there  were  published  and  sent  broadcast  4,050,980 
pieces  of  literature.  The  same  report  says:  "Dur- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  27 

ing  the  year  the  Bureau  took  part  in  two  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  elections  held  in  twenty-five  differ- 
ent States.  The  Bureau  has  been  successful  in  74% 
of  the  contests  in  which  it  has  participated  during 
the  year."  The  bureau  aided  in  seven  fights  affecting 
entire  States.  The  more  formidable  and  threatening 
the  saloon  oligarchy  becomes,  the  more  evident  will 
be  the  necessity  of  mustering  the  anti-saloon  battal- 
ions to  aid  in  suppressing  it. 

The  saloon  element  cares  nothing  for  any  polit- 
ical party  except  in  so  far  as  it  advances  the  sale  and 
consumption  of  liquor.  It  is  the  embodiment  of 
selfishness,  and  is  freighted  down  with  evil  and  evil 
consequences.  The  chief  reason  why  saloon  politics 
subsist  to-day  grows  out  of  its  organized  system  of 
political  patronage  and  its  cohesive  power  of  public 
plunder.  It  caters  to  the  party  in  ascendency,  but 
does  not  help  or  benefit  any  genuine  political  life. 
Ex-Governor  Chamberlain  sums  up  the  situation  in 
this  terse  language:  "The  average  saloon-keeper 
has  no  politics.  He  will  be  a  rampant  Republican 
to-day  and  a  roaring  Democrat  to-morrow,  just  as 
he  may  promote  his  traffic.  His  politics  may  be  said 
to  be  the  unrestrained  right  to  sell  a  cent's  worth  of 
beer  for  a  nickel  and  two  cents'  worth  of  whisky  for 
a  dime.  No  other  question  in  politics  interests  him 
beyond  that."  This  arraignment  is  verified  by  the 
testimony  of  the  official  representatives  of  the  saloon. 
The  brewers'  national  organ  says :  "  If  we  find  that 
one  political  party  is  against  us,  we  must  support 
the  other.  Self -protection  must  be  our  only  guide  — 


28  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

first  beer  and  then  politicians."  The  National  Ad- 
vocate, the  official  organ  of  the  Knights  of  the  Royal 
Arch,  a  liquor  organization,  says:  "Politics  in  the 
liquor  world  must  at  this  stage  be  thoroughly  revised. 
We  must  dismiss  all  party  lines  and  vote  for  the  men 
who  will  give  us  justice.  If  the  Democratic  admin- 
istration is  best  for  our  rights,  we  say  vote  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket;  if  the  Republican  party  is  more  in 
favor  with  us  than  the  Democratic,  we  say  vote  that 
ticket;  but  before  doing  so  we  must  think  well,  and 
we  must  act  in  a  body  and  give  our  blow  when  the 
time  comes." 

The  majority  of  saloon-keepers  are  foreigners, 
and,  considering  the  saloon  atmosphere  that  sur- 
rounds them,  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  they 
will  have  deep-seated  party  convictions  or  under- 
stand the  genius  of  a  self-governing  people. 

The  saloon  element  imagines  it  can  protect  it- 
self from  a  long-suffering  people  by  identification 
with  certain  political  organizations.  The  Knights 
of  Fidelity  News,  the  chief  liquor  organ  of  Indiana, 
in  its  issue  of  March,  1903,  urges  the  saloon  forces 
to  array  themselves  against  the  Republican  party. 
It  charges  the  Republican  organization  with  passing 
laws  unfavorable  to  their  business,  and  urges  the 
saloon  forces  openly  to  support  the  Democratic  party. 
On  the  eve  of  election  a  leading  editorial  in  The 
Southwest,  a  liquor  organ,  used  these  words:  "We 
say  again,  as  we  have  said  a  great  many  times  be- 
fore, that  all  Ohio  laws  which  interfere  with  our  per- 
sonal liberty  were  passed  by  Republican  Legislatures. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


There  is  no  exception  —  the  Pond  law,  the  Owens 
law,  the  Smith  law,  the  Stubbs  law,  and  id  omne 
yenus,  were  Republican  measures.  A  word  to  the 
wise  is  sufficient.  People  who  are,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  interested  in  the  liquor  trade  will,  by 
voting  the  Democratic  ticket,  vote  for  their  own  in- 
terests. "  The  Wine  and  Spirit  News,  the  chief  liquor 
organ  of  Ohio,  in  its  issue  of  April  27,  1904,  says: 
"It  must  be  quite  plain  now  that  the  Republican 
party  as  a  party  is  not  friendly  to  the  liberal  in- 
terests of  the  State,  representing  as  they  do  many 
millions  and  tens  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
property.  The  huge  majorities  rolled  up  by  the 
party  have  resulted  disastrously  to  the  liquor  inter- 
ests, which  in  the  main  were  largely  responsible  for 
such  results.  In  the  fight  which  has  just  closed,  the 
Republican  party  proved  false  to  its  solemn  agree- 
ment made  prior  to  the  election,  and  became  a  most 
radical  and  uncompromising  foe  of  the  very  people 
who  did  so  much  for  its  success."  The  Wine  and 
Spirit  Gazette  of  New  York  recently  said:  "The 
liquor  vote  of  this  State,  a  good  deal  more  than  120,- 
000  strong,  can,  if  it  will,  control  all  legislation  at 
Albany.  It  has  the  balance  of  power  between  the 
two  parties.  It  can  make  or  unmake  majorities. 
Properly  led,  it  can  elect  any  set  of  men  it  pleases." 
The  New  York  Liquor  Dealers'  Association,  in 
their  meeting  held  September,  1903,  became  intensely 
partisan,  and  showed  an  open  and  determined  oppo- 
sition against  the  ascendency  of  the  Republican 
party,  which  they  charged  with  imposing,  in  the  last 


30  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Legislature,  an  additional  liquor  tax.  One  of  the 
resolutions  of  this  meeting  reads  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  we  appeal  to  every  liquor  mer- 
chant in  the  State,  whether  a  member  of  our  asso- 
ciation or  not,  to  use  his  vote  at  the  coming  election 
and  whatever  influence  he  can  command  for  the  de- 
feat of  any  and  all  Republican  candidates  for  the 
Legislature,  and  to  secure  by  all  legitimate  means 
the  election  of  the  Democratic  candidates  whom  ex- 
perience has  taught  us  we  can  ever  rely  upon  as 
friends  commonly  committed  to  those  principles  of 
popular  liberty  and  equal  rights  so  dear  to  us  all." 

The  New  York  Liquor  Trades  Review  declares: 
"  That  the  Republican  party  has  annihilated  itself  in 
this  State  is  unquestionable.  Let  the  politicians  of 
the  parties  attend  to  their  business  for  awhile,  and 
you  do  the  voting.  This  above  all,  *  to  thine  own  self 
be  true,'  and  remember,  Mr.  Saloon-keeper,  that  in 
politics,  as  in  business,  it  is  the  quintessence  of  in- 
gratitude and  the  acme  of  imprudence  to  cast  aside 
old  friends."  A  long  list  of  such  statements  from 
other  States  might  be  given  to  show  the  political 
animus  of  the  saloon.  Notwithstanding  the  saloon 
boasted  of  its  heart's  desire  and  attempted  to  cajole 
and  threaten  the  party  mentioned  and  make  it  sub- 
servient to  its  interests,  yet  its  majority  in  the  suc- 
ceeding elections  in  the  three  States  given  was  rarely 
if  ever  exceeded. 

It  is  evident  that  the  political  lines  are  being 
drawn.  The  saloon,  however,  has  no  claim  on  any 
party,  since  good  men  and  loyal  citizens  are  found 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  31 

in  all  parties.  The  anti-saloon  Democrats  as  well 
as  the  anti-saloon  Republicans  would  resent  being 
massed  with  the  saloon  element.  The  antagonists 
of  the  saloon,  irrespective  of  party  affiliations,  are 
lining  up  against  the  saloon  on  moral  grounds.  The 
recent  votes  in  the  several  Legislatures  where  the 
saloon  issue  was  involved  show  that  the  moral  con- 
flict within  party  lines  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Consequently  any  political  party  that  would  attach 
itself  to  the  saloon  interests  will  suffer  ultimate  de- 
feat. The  time  was  when  no  political  party  dared 
to  withstand  or  offend  the  power  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
The  conditions  are  rapidly  changing  for  the  better. 
Whenever  the  an ti -saloon  forces  are  united  and  active 
the  balance  of  the  political  power  is  rapidly  slipping 
from  the  saloon  element.  If  a  fair  and  square  sa- 
loon issue  is  injected  into  the  campaign,  the  anti- 
saloon  vote  is  likely  to  overbalance  the  distinctively 
saloon  vote.  As  a  result,  politicians  no  longer  close 
their  ears,  shut  their  eyes,  and  turn  their  backs  on 
anti-saloon  workers.  They  understand  that  they  in- 
vite defeat  whenever  they  attempt  to  do  the  bidding 
of  the  saloon.  The  anti-saloon  forces  aim  to  make 
it  politically  safe  for  any  public  official  to  obey  his 
moral  convictions  and  preserve  his  integrity. 

The  saloon  is  likewise  a  generating  agency  of 
corrupt  politicians.  The  corruption  begins  in  the 
political  caucus,  many  of  which  in  cities  are  held  in 
saloons.  Out  of  a  total  of  one  thousand  and  two 
nominating  conventions  and  primaries  of  the  Re- 
publican and  Democratic  parties  in  New  York  City, 


32  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

in  a  single  year,  six  hundred  and  thirty-three  were 
held  in  saloons  and  ninety-six  in  places  next  to  a 
saloon.  Especially  in  the  cities,  the  candidate  for 
office  must  not  only  be  represented  in  the  political 
caucus  by  frequenters  of  the  saloon,  but  obey  their 
mandates.  He  must  descend  to  the  saloon  for  in- 
struction in  politics  or  he  cannot  succeed.  Through 
them  he  must  obtain  the  votes  of  the  idle,  vicious, 
and  purchasable  elements  of  society.  Hence  enlight- 
ened patriotism  will  never  emanate  from  the  saloon. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  men  of  character  and  worth 
often  feel  that  rather  than  submit  to  such  ordeals 
and  debasement  to  gain  political  control,  they  pre- 
fer retirement  to  private  life. 

Again,  the  local  governments  in  many  of  our 
cities  are  in  the  hands  of  the  saloon.  The  curse  of 
local  municipal  misgovernment  is  in  proportion  to 
their  number.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  speaking  of  the 
situation  while  serving  as  head  of  the  Police  Depart- 
ment in  New  York  City,  says :  *  *  All  of  our  cities  have 
been  shamefully  misgoverned  in  times  past,  and  in 
New  York  the  misgovernment  has  been,  perhaps, 
more  flagrant  than  anywhere  else.  Naturally,  the 
saloon-keeper  has  stood  high  among  the  professional 
politicians,  who  have  been  so  prominent  in  New 
York  politics  for  many  decades.  More  than  half  of 
the  political  leaders  of  Tammany  Hall  have  at  one 
time  or  another  themselves  been  in  the  liquor  busi- 
ness. The  saloon  forms  the  natural  club  and  meet- 
ing-place for  the  ward  leaders  and  '  heelers ' —  so 
much  so  that  the  bar-room  politician  has  become  a 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  33 

recognized  factor  in  local  political  government.  The 
saloon-keepers  are  always  hand-in-glove  with  the 
professional  politicians,  and  occupy  towards  them 
a  position  such  as  is  not  held  by  any  other  class  of 
men.  The  influence  they  wield  in  local  politics  has 
always  been  very  great;  and  until  we  took  office  no 
man  ever  dared  seriously  to  threaten  them  for  their 
flagrant  violation  of  the  laws.  Their  power  was  a 
terror  to  all  parties."  The  odious  "Boodle"  Board 
of  Aldermen  of  New  York  City  was  composed  of 
twenty-four  members,  twelve  of  whom  were  saloon- 
keepers and  four  were  saloon  politicians.  In  1902 
thirteen  out  of  forty-six  of  the  city  council  in  Mil- 
waukee were  saloon-keepers.  These  instances  are 
typical  of  conditions  prevailing  elsewhere. 

Wherever  the  saloon  is  most  strongly  intrenched, 
there  knavery,  plunder,  graft,  and  bad  government 
are  most  rampant.  These  evils  result  from  the  com- 
bination between  the  politician  and  the  saloon.  The 
venal  politicians  who  act  as  party  leaders  are  without 
any  apparent  moral  convictions  or  principles.  They 
exercise  their  mastery  in  politics  in  the  realm  of  the 
saloon.  They  acknowledge  allegiance  to  them,  and 
pander  to  the  worst  vices  of  the  worst  class.  This 
class  of  saloon  politicians  degrade  public  service  to 
their  own  low  level.  The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  the 
product  is  to  get  rid  of  the  saloon.  It  is  the  methods 
of  the  saloon  in  politics  that  render  it  so  formidable 
and  mischievous.  They  reduce  the  contest  for  polit- 
ical control  to  the  point  of  having  an  opportunity 
to  misgovern.  These  conditions  become  all  the  more 


34  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

significant  when  we  take  into  account  the  possibil- 
ity that  such  a  city  as  New  York  may  have,  in  the 
near  future,  the  deciding  vote  that  will  determine 
who  shall  be  President  of  the  United  States. 

Furthermore,  the  saloon  is  the  chief  promoter  of 
bribery  and  rascality  in  politics.  Wherever  the  sa- 
loon is  the  most  prosperous  and  exerts  the  greatest 
political  influence,  there  the  political  conditions  are 
the  most  odious.  Instances  are  not  wanting  to  show 
that  the  saloon  does  not  hesitate  to  corrupt  voters. 
In  every  important  election  venal  votes  are  cast  by 
the  thousands.  The  purchased  votes  are  almost  in- 
variably bought  and  paid  for  in  the  saloon.  Careful 
and  moderate  estimates  show  that  out  of  every  one 
thousand  of  sober  voters  over  one  hundred  are  venal. 
Out  of  one  thousand  moderate  drinkers  who  vote 
over  four  hundred  are  venal ;  while  out  of  one  thou- 
sand heavy  drinkers  who  vote  over  seven  hundred 
are  venal.  These  figures  are  startling  in  their  truth 
as  well  as  in  their  significance. 

It  is  evident  that  whenever  the  un-American  sa- 
loon plans  with  selfish  calculation  to  corrupt  and 
cheapen  the  boon  of  political  rights  for  the  individ- 
ual, the  home,  the  church,  and  the  nation  are  in 
peril.  It  perverts  and  spoils  the  democratic  system. 
The  law-abiding  citizen  is  thereby  disfranchised  and 
the  purposes  of  government  thwarted.  American 
citizenship  and  the  right  of  suffrage  become  a  re- 
proach. Our  fathers  fought  to  gain  a  representa- 
tive form  of  government.  In  many  instances  it  has 
come  to  pass  that  the  expression  of  personal  judg- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  35 

ment  at  the  ballot-box  is  offset  by  the  lawlessness  of 
the  liquor  traffic.  This  pernicious  power  in  a  gov- 
ernment of  free  people  is  established  and  perpet- 
uated »by  the  bad  element  as  well  as  by  the  indiffer- 
ent voter  at  the  ballot-box.  It  is  impossible  to  ac- 
quit of  some  measure  of  responsibility  those  voters 
who  directly  or  indirectly  help  to  maintain  the  traffic 
or  to  participate  in  its  profits.  Many  voters  would 
resent  saloon  control  and  disdain  to  share  in  its  prof- 
its, and  yet  are  led  by  the  spirit  of  partisanship  to 
elect  candidates  who  will  sustain  the  schemes  of  a 
political  boss  who  is  subservient  to  the  saloon  power. 
The  supremacy  of  the  saloon  boss  may  be  overcome 
by  the  independent  voters  who,  irrespective  of  party 
ties,  will  vote  only  for  men  of  good  character.  Every 
patriotic  American  should  be  aroused  to  the  peril, 
and  led  to  bring  the  destructive  force  of  public  sen- 
timent against  this  arch-criminal  of  political  liberty. 


THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  SOCIAL  ASPECTS 

Strength  of  mind  depends  upon  sobriety. —  PYTHAGORAS. 

While  the  intemperate  man  inflicts  evil  upon  his  friends,  he 
brings  far  more  upon  himself.  Not  only  to  ruin  his  family,  but 
also  to  bring  ruin  on  his  body  and  soul,  is  the  greatest  wrong  any 
man  can  commit. —  SOCRATES. 

The  liquor  traffic  is  a  cancer  in  society,  eating  out  the  vitals  and 
threatening  destruction,  and  all  attempts  to  regulate  it  will  not 
only  prove  abortive,  but  will  aggravate  the  evil.  There  must  be 
no  more  attempts  to  regulate  the  cancer.  It  must  be  eradicated, 
not  a  root  must  be  left  behind;  for  until  this  is  done  all  classes  must 
continue  in  danger  of  becoming  victims  of  strong  drink. — 
LINCOLN. 

I  am  not  a  temperance  lecturer  in  disguise,  but  a  man  who 
knows  and  tells  you  what  observation  has  proved  to  him;  and  I 
say  to  you  that  you  are  more  likely  to  fail  in  your  career  from  ac- 
quiring the  habit  of  drinking  liqucir  than  from  any  of  the  other 
temptations  likely  to  assail  you.  You  may  yield  to  almost  any  other 
temptation  and  reform,  but  from  the  insane  thirst  for  liquor  es- 
cape is  almost  impossible.  I  have  known  of  but  few  exceptions  to 
this  rule. —  ANDREW  CARNEGIE. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  I  knew  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
Peekskill ;  and  it  has  been  a  study  with  me  to  mark  boys  who 
started  in  every  grade  of  life  with  myself,  to  see  what  has  become 
of  them.  I  was  up  last  fall,  and  began  to  count  them  over,  and  it 
was  an  instructive  exhibit.  Some  of  them  became  clerks,  mer- 
chants, manufacturers,  lawyers,  and  doctors.  It  is  remarkable 
that  every  one  of  those  that  drank  is  dead;  not  one  living  of  my 
age.  Barring  a  few  who  were  taken  by  sickness,  every  one  who 
proved  a  wreck  and  wrecked  his  family  did  it  from  rum  and  no 
other  cause.  Of  those  who  were  church-going  people,  who  were 
steady,  who  were  frugal  and  thrifty,  every  single  one  of  them,  with- 
out an  exception,  owns  the  house  in  which  he  lives,  and  has  some- 
thing laid  by,  the  interest  of  which,  with  his  house,  would  carry 
him  through  many  a  rainy  day.  When  a  man  becomes  debased 
with  gambling,  rum,  or  drink  he  does  not  care;  all  his  finer  feelings 
are  crowded  out.  The  poor  women  at  home  are  the  ones  who 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  37 

suffer  —  suffer  in  their  tenderest  emotions,  suffer  in  their  affec- 
tions for  those  whom  they  love  better  than  life. —  CHAUNCEY 
DEPEW. 

How  many  a  young  man  whom  I  knew  in  my  school  days 
went  down  because  of  his  fondness  for  intoxicating  drinks!  No 
man  has  ever  had  occasion  to  regret  that  he  was  not  addicted  to 
the  use  of  liquor.  No  woman  has  ever  had  occasion  to  regret 
that  she  was  not  instrumental  in  influencing  young  men  to  use 
intoxicants. —  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER. 

THE  influence  of  the  saloon  on  the  social  life 
of  the  people  far  exceeds  in  importance  the 
economic  and  political  aspects.  In  the  first 
place,  the  saloon  is  the  enemy  of  society  because  of 
the  evil  results  produced  upon  the  individual.  It 
meets  no  legitimate  demand  of  human  nature,  but 
exists  to  excite  an  abnormal  appetite  for  intoxicants. 
The  supply  of  liquor  creates  the  demand,  and  not, 
as  in  the  case  of  necessities,  the  demand  the  supply. 
In  a  multitude  of  ways  it  fosters  and  overstimulates 
a  thirst  for  drink.  One  of  its  avowed  purposes  is  to 
encourage  the  habit  of  treating,  and  by  means  of 
free  salted  lunches  and  concocted  drinks  provoke  a 
wholly  unnatural  craving  for  intoxicating  liquor.  It 
is  this  fact  that  makes  the  saloon  a  positive  evil,  and 
vicious  in  the  highest  degree.  It  becomes  an  instru- 
ment to  make  a  man  intoxicated,  and  thereby  forms 
the  chief  contributing  cause  towards  discounting  his 
value  in  society. 

The  saloon  not  only  helps  to  deprave  the  appe- 
tite, but  is  the  important  factor  from  a  hygienic  point 
of  view  in  dispensing  intoxicants  that  undermine 
the  health  and  efficiency  of  its  patrons.  (Much  of  the 
success  of  man  as  a  productive  force  in  society  comes 


38  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

from  a  sound  body  and  a  clear  brain.  It  is  an  incon- 
trovertible fact  that  the  physical  and  mental  powers 
cannot  be  used  to  the  best  advantage  when  under 
the  influence  of  intoxicating  liquors.)  The  insidious 
and  deceptive  character  of  alcohol  and  beer  on  the 
vital  functions  of  the  human  body  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  scientists,  physiologists,  and  physicians 
eminent  in  their  professions.  Dr.  J.  H.  Kellog  says, 
"  In  administering  alcohol  in  small  doses  to  a  healthy 
human  being,  the  result  is,  first,  to  diminish  nerve 
activity;  second,  to  reduce  cerebral  activity;  third, 
to  impair  the  coordinate  power  of  the  brain ;  fourth, 
to  lessen  muscular  strength  to  a  notable  degree ;  fifth, 
to  diminish  digestive  activity."  Dr.  A.  Forel,  of  the 
University  of  Zurich,  testifies  that  even  a  moderate 
quantity  of  alcohol  contained  in  a  glass  of  wine  or  a 
pint  of  German  beer  "is  sufficient  to  paralyze,  re- 
tard, or  disturb  the  central  and  centripetal  brain 
functions.  The  number  of  mistakes  in  calculation, 
setting  type,  memorizing,  is  increased.  Sensibility 
is  blunted,  the  reaction  is  retarded.  The  subjective 
consequence  of  the  effect  is  agreeable :  one  feels  heat, 
cold,  and  pain  less;  one  is  less  afraid,  less  accurate, 
less  scrupulous.  At  the  same  time  a  very  slight  illu- 
sion spreads  over  reality,  the  beginning  of  the  later 
intoxication  by  higher  doses.  Hence,  whenever  alco- 
hol promotes  sociability  and  loosens  the  tongue  it  is 
the  consequence  of  a  cerebral  intoxication.  When- 
ever the  dose  is  too  weak  to  produce  this  result  it  also 
fails  to  have  the  desired  effect.  Hence  it  is  evident 
that  the  social  effect  of  alcohol  is  pathological.  It 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  39 

may,  in  Kraepelin's  and  Delb ruck's  words,  'rouse 
stupid  crowds  to  talk.'"  Dr.  S.  H.  Burgen,of  Toledo, 
Ohio,  adds  the  following  testimony  of  a  practising 
physician:  "My  attention  was  first  called  to  the  in- 
sidious effects  of  beer  when  I  began  examining  for 
life  insurance.  I  passed  as  unusually  good  risks  five 
Germans  — young  business  men  — who  seemed  in  the 
best  of  health,  and  to  have  superb  constitutions.  In 
a  few  years  I  was  amazed  to  see  the  whole  five  drop 
off,  one  after  another,  with  what  ought  to  be  mild 
and  easily  curable  diseases.  On  comparing  my  ex- 
perience with  that  of  other  physicians,  I  found  they 
were  all  having  similar  luck  with  confirmed  beer- 
drinkers,  and  my  practice  since  has  heaped  confir- 
mation upon  confirmation."  The  whisky  trade 
paper.  Barrels  and  Bottles,  adds  its  testimony  to  the 
dangerous  use  of  beer:  "Every  one  bears  testimony 
that  no  man  can  drink  beer  safely,  that  it  is  an  in- 
jury to  any  one  who  uses  it  in  any  quantity,  and 
that  its  effect  on  the  general  health  is  far  worse  than 
that  of  whisky,  clogging  his  liver,  rotting  his  kid- 
neys, decaying  his  heart  and  arteries,  stupefying  and 
starving  his  brain,  choking  his  lungs  and  bronchia, 
loading  his  body  with  dropsical  fluids  and  unwhole- 
some fat,  fastening  upon  him  rheumatism,  erysipelas, 
and  all  manner  of  painful  and  disgusting  diseases, 
and  finally  dragging  him  to  his  grave  when  other 
men  are  in  their  prime  of  mental  and  bodily  vigor." 
The  deleterious  effect  of  alcohol  on  the  human 
system  is  accentuated  by  expert  testimony  as  to  the 
fearful  adulterations.  One  of  the  Pure  Food  Com- 


40  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

missioners  of  Illinois  says,  "More  than  80%  of  the 
whisky  of  the  United  States  is  adulterated  with 
harmful  deleterious  poisons,  chemicals,  and  com- 
pounds, 85%  of  which  is  sold  in  barrels  and  15% 
in  bottles."  Dr.  B.  H.  Warren,  the  Pure  Food  Com- 
missioner, of  Pennsylvania,  found  upon  examining 
one  thousand  samples  gathered  from  over  the  State, 
that  95%  of  them  were  adulterated.  His  reports 
show  that  more  than  85%  of  all  whisky  is  doctored 
by  wood  alcohol  and  red  or  India  pepper  and  prus- 
sic  acid  and  other  drugs. 

Numerous  observations  have  been  made  which 
show  that  the  beverage  use  of  alcohol  predisposes  a 
person  to  succumb  to  sickness,  and  likewise  dimin- 
ishes resistance  to  all  infectious  and  contagious  dis- 
eases. Furthermore,  facts  go  to  corroborate  the 
statement  that  intoxicants  become  a  positive  injury 
to  athletes,  explorers,  and  others  in  training  for  feats 
of  strength  and  endurance.  The  history  of  armies 
demonstrates  that  the  soldiers  who  endure  the  great- 
est fatigue  and  exposure  are  the  men  who  refrain 
from  drinking.  Lord  Roberts  testifies  that  the  24,- 
800  out  of  the  75,000  soldiers  in  India  who  are  total 
abstainers  furnish  2,000  more  effective  troops  than 
the  other  two  thirds  who  are  not  abstainers.  Lord 
Kitchener  led  an  army  of  teetotalers  on  a  phenom- 
enal forced  march,  under  a  burning  sun,  through  an 
African  desert,  to  victory  in  the  Soudan. 

Again,  the  saloon  encourages  the  use  of  drinks 
that  produce  abnormal  nerve  conditions,  and  de- 
stroy one's  dignity  as  a  rational  being.  Among  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  41 

many  cooperative  causes  of  insanity  is  the  immod- 
erate use  of  alcohol.  It  is  a  potent  excitant  of  the 
nerves,  and  stimulates  the  brain  to  a  feverish  activ- 
ity. The  alarming  growth  of  insanity  in  both  Europe 
and  America  is  traceable  to  alcoholism.  The  Massa- 
chusetts Bureau  of  Statistics  of  1894  shows  that  of 
1,281  adult  insane  persons,  659,  or  51.44,  were  ad- 
dicted to  the  use  of  liquors.  Dr.  Delbruck,  of  Bre- 
men, Germany,  has  recently  pointed  out  that  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  persons  who  were  treated  in 
a  North  Germany  asylum  for  drunkenness,  forty-one 
had  been  alcoholized  by  drinking  spirits,  thirty-eight 
by  wine-drinking,  and  seventy-eight,  or  more  than 
half,  by  the  excessive  consumption  of  beer.  The  fifty- 
sixth  annual  report  of  the  Pennsylvania  Commis- 
sioner of  Lunacy  shows  that  the  ratio  of  the  increase 
of  insanity  from  intemperance  is  five  to  one. 

The  question  has  a  more  dramatic  interest  when 
we  come  to  consider  thatfthe  saloon  helps  to  destroy 
personal  self-respect,  and  in  so  far  becomes  an  ob- 
stacle to  the  growth  of  good  society.  The  saloon 
lures  its  patrons  to  drink,  and  by  means  of  screens 
and  other  devices  shields  them  from  public  gaze. 
The  harmless  social  glass  with  perhaps  only  a  small 
amount  of  alcohol  is  the  first  step  taken  to  create  an 
uncontrollable  desire  for  more  and  stronger  drink. 
Gradually  the  victim  reaches  a  moral  plane  where 
conscience  is  silenced  and  he  is  ready  to  participate 
in  all  the  accompanying  vices  of  the  saloon.  After- 
wards he  wakens  to  the  fact  that  he  has  destroyed 
self-respect  and  forfeited  the  good  opinion  of  his  fel- 


42  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

lows.  With  self-respect  gone  and  all  barriers  broken 
down,  there  is  no  limit  to  his  moral  and  social  deg- 
radation.! The  passion  for  drink  has  caused  the  ex- 
pression of  the  eye  to  fade  and  the  grace  of  the  hu- 
man form  to  depart.  He  has  reached  the  point  where 
he  can  practise  the  art  of  dissimulation  and  excuse 
with  the  boldest  effrontery.  Finally,  the  victim  seeks 
the  lowest  haunts  of  vice  and  becomes  submerged  in 
imbecility  or  a  drunkard's  grave.  What  a  satire  on 
the  life  of  a  human  being  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels!  Truly,  this  is  no  overdrawn  picture,  but  one 
of  the  common  products  of  the  saloon  and  its  social 
attractions. 

(The  saloon  is  likewise  a  menace  to  the  family. 
The  vice  and  degradation  generated  in  the  saloon 
do  not  stop  there,  but  attack  the  home,  and  invade 
the  sanctuary  of  womanhood  and  childhood.  The 
social  and  sexual  instincts  are  normally  developed 
in  the  family.  Whatever  influence  hinders  or  ob- 
structs these  natural  relations  works  an  injustice  to 
both  individual  and  social  well-being.  Many  fre- 
quenters of  the  saloon  are  young  men  who  spend 
such  a  large  proportion  of  their  money  in  drink  and 
dissipation  that  they  are  thereby  debarred  from  en- 
tering into  marriage  relations  and  maintaining  a  fam- 
ily. Those  who  do  assume  the  responsibility  are 
likely  sooner  or  later  to  become  improvident,  squan- 
der and  waste  property,  neglect  business,  and  for- 
sake the  family.  The  husband  and  father  who 
makes  the  saloon  a  favorite  resort  is  tempted  to 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  43 

waste  his  money  and  consume  his  energy.  The 
economic  result  of  this  disablement  is  to  render  the 
man  less  serviceable  to  his  family,  as  well  as  to  so- 
ciety. >  His  usefulness  is  cut  short.  Instead  of  being 
a  contributing  factor  to  civilization,  he  becomes  de- 
pendent and  useless.  When  the  head  of  a  family  be- 
comes non-productive  because  of  drink,  the  wife 
and  children  are  often  compelled  to  support  them- 
selves, and  possibly  to  help  pay  public  fines  imposed 
upon  the  drunken  husband  and  father.  Conse- 
quently there  is  less  promise  of  usefulness  in  the 
family  when  the  saloon  has  occasioned  such  poverty, 
squalor,  and  degradation. 

The  integrity  of  the  whole  social  fabric  is  so  in- 
terwoven with  the  integrity  and  purity  of  the  family 
life  that  whatever  weakens  the  latter  impairs  the  for- 
mer. The  home  is  the  corner-stone  of  national  safety. 
The  downfall  of  nations  in  the  past  has  been  preceded 
by  a  reckless  sundering  of  family  ties.  The  tendency 
of  the  saloon  evil  is  to  destroy  the  home,  and  thereby 
disorganize  society  and  undermine  the  State.  The 
worst  feature  of  the  domestic  phase  is  that  the  pas- 
sion for  drink  ruins  affection,  breaks  family  ties,  and 
makes  men  callous  to  the  anguish  of  wife,  children, 
and  friends.  The  frequency  of  divorces  is  one  of  the 
danger-signals.  There  were  in  1903  more  than  23,000 
divorces  granted  in  the  United  States  alone.  Accord- 
ing to  the  deliberate  testimony  of  the  judges  who  le- 
gally sever  the  matrimonial  bonds  in  the  courts,  more 
than  two  thirds  of  the  divorces  are  occasioned  by  the 


44  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

use  of  intoxicants.  The  alarming  laxity  of  family  ob- 
ligations, unless  checked,  is  certain  to  be  followed  by 
ruin  and  disaster  to  society. 

The  saloon,  by  perpetuating  the  aggravated  forms 
of  the  drink  habit,  unfits  men  to  become  fathers. 
The  voice  of  science  sounds  a  tremendous  warning 
against  the  use  of  alcohol  as  a  beverage  because  of 
its  predisposing  effect  upon  the  offspring.  It  poisons 
the  fountain  of  life,  and  is  dangerous  to  the  most 
tender  of  all  organisms,  the  human  seed-cells.  Pro- 
fessor G.  Von  Bunge,  M.D.,  says,  "  Alcohol  is  most 
dangerous  for  the  full-grown  persons  who  are  to  be 
fathers  and  mothers  of  the  coming  generations,  and 
those  first  of  all  must  be  total  abstainers.  The  great- 
est crime  a  human  being  can  commit  is  to  poison  the 
seed-cells."  Every  child  is  entitled  to  a  clean,  whole- 
some birthright.  The  saloon  that  stimulates  the  de- 
mand for  drink  is  more  or  less  responsible  for  the 
condition  that  robs  many  a  child  of  his  right  to  be 
well  born. 

The  fatal  law  of  heredity  may  be  traced  step  by 
step  to  alcoholism.  This  disease,  like  any  other,  is 
transmitted  from  one  generation  to  another,  and  has 
a  culminative  effect.  Naturally  there  spring  up  from 
such  degenerate  soil  the  seeds  of  crime,  vice,  and  in- 
sanity. Some  men  who  have  had  the  good  fortune 
to  have  a  temperate  father  and  mother  may  be  able 
to  drink  intoxicating  liquors  with  impunity,  but  their 
offspring  is  likely  to  have  a  lessened  vitality  and  im- 
paired powers  with  which  to  resist  the  subtle  influ- 
ence. Dr.  Legrain  traced  the  course  of  four  gen- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  45 

erations  of  drinkers,  in  two  hundred  and  fifteen  fam- 
ilies. Giving  the  result  of  his  investigation,  he  says: 
"  Summing  up  the  eight  hundred  and  fourteen  cases 
I  have  tried,  comprised  in  these  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  families,  I  have  found  that  42.2%  have  be- 
come alcoholics,  69.9%  are  degenerates,  13.9%  are 
morally  irresponsible,  22.7%  have  had  convulsions, 
one  third  have  become  subject  to  hysteria  or  epilepsy, 
and  19%  are  incurably  insane.  In  addition  to  these, 
one  hundred  and  seventy -four  have  disappeared  from 
this  world  before,  or  almost  before,  having  drawn 
their  first  breath.  To  these  I  might  add  ninety-three 
cases  of  tuberculosis,  or  of  other  wasting  and  incur- 
able illness,  which  brings  the  total  of  those  who  died 
from  hereditary  alcoholism  up  to  almost  one  third." 
Richard  A.  Dugdale,  of  New  York  State,  in  his  re- 
port of  the  New  York  prison  commission,  investi- 
gated the  descendants  of  a  drunkard  named  Max 
through  seven  generations :  "  Of  the  five  hundred  and 
forty  descendants,  two  hundred  and  eighty  were  adult 
paupers,  one  hundred  and  forty  were  criminals  and 
offenders  of  the  worst  sort,  guilty  of  seven  murders, 
theft,  highway  robbery,  and  nearly  every  other  crime 
known  in  the  calendar  of  crime."  The  estimated 
cost  to  the  public  for  supporting  this  family  was 
$1,308,000.  General  Booth  says,  "Nine  tenths  of 
our  poverty,  squalor,  vice,  and  crime  spring  from 
this  poisonous  taproot.  Society,  by  its  habits,  cus- 
toms, and  laws,  has  greased  the  slope  down  which 
these  poor  creatures  slide  to  perdition."  Professor 
Demme,  of  Stuttgart,  Germany,  made  a  study  of 


46  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

ten  families  of  drunkards  and  ten  temperate  fam- 
ilies for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  The  direct  poster- 
ity of  the  ten  families  of  drunkards  included  fifty- 
seven  children.  Only  ten  of  all  these  fifty-seven,  or 
17.5%,  showed  during  youth  a  normal  constitution 
and  development  of  body  and  mind.  The  ten  tem- 
perate families  produced  sixty-one  children.  Of  these, 
fifty,  or  81%,  were  normal  in  every  way,  developing 
well  in  body  and  mind.  The  expert  testimony  of 
scientists  and  physicians  regarding  the  hereditary  in- 
fluence of  alcoholism  is  reinforced  by  the  records  of 
the  prisons,  asylums,  and  reformatories.  These 
show  conclusively  that  the  hereditary  taints  of  the 
liquor  habit  are  seen  in  their  injurious  effects  in  off- 
spring. For  example,  there  were  in  1902  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty  boys  committed  to  the  Industrial 
School  at  Lancaster,  Ohio.  Of  these,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  had  intemperate  fathers  and  five  had  in- 
temperate mothers.  These  facts  go  to  show  that 
criminality  is  accentuated  in  the  families  of  drunk- 
ards. 

The  significance  of  the  social  aspect  of  the  liquor 
traffic  is  again  seen  in  that  the  money  expended  by 
intemperate  parents  in  the  saloons  results  in  the  en- 
forced ignorance  of  the  children,  whose  abilities  often 
remain  undeveloped  for  want  of  means  and  incen- 
tives that  would  otherwise  be  their  natural  inheri- 
tance. In  this  day  and  age  children  have  just  claim 
upon  their  parents  according  to  ability  to  provide 
comfortable  homes,  good  reading,  and  all  that  goes 
to  broaden  and  enrich  life,  and  to  prepare  them  for 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  47 

useful  citizenship.  (The  saloons,  with  their  attrac- 
tions, and  the  bartenders,  with  their  effusive  smiles, 
lure  men  to  drink,  and  to  spend  their  money  that 
ought  to  go  to  the  education  of  their  children  and 
the  betterment  of  family  comforts.  The  saloon,  with 
its  vulture-like  greed,  leads  men  to  steal  the  bread 
from  the  wife  and  children  of  their  patrons  in  order 
to  fill  their  own  coffers.  The  evil  results  of  the  traffic 
to  the  family  do  not  stop  here,  but  grow  more  seri- 
ous and  horrifying  when  the  husband  and  father 
goes  home  with  his  brain  maddened  with  drink  to 
abuse  his  wife  and  children.  The  enticements  of  the 
saloon  are  causing  untold  suffering  and  sorrow  to 
many  wives,  mothers,  and  children.  )* Mrs.  Helen 
Gougar  kept  tab  on  the  open  saloon  of  this  country 
for  only  one  year,  and  found  that  more  than  three 
thousand  helpless  wives  were  murdered  by  drunken 
husbands  within  that  brief  period.?  These  are  some 
of  the  victims  that  cry  aloud  to  our  legislators 
and  public  officials  that  they  should  protect  not 
the  saloon-keeper,  but  those  who  suffer  from  the 
saloon's  direful  consequences.  (In  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  saloons  help  to  provoke  and  perpetuate 
these  outrages  in  society,  no  one  can  say  that  the 
saloon-keeper  is  following  a  legitimate  occupation 
and  gaining  an  honest  livelihood,  without  display- 
ing a  culpable  ignorance  or  the  lack  of  a  fine 
sense  of  honor.  The  social  situation  demands  that 
every  lover  of  home  and  country  should  stand  as  an 
advocate  for  the  army  of  suffering  women  and  help- 
less children  in  our  land.  1 


48  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

(Another  aspect  of  vast  moment  is  the  influence 
of  the  saloon  on  American  institutions.!1  The  saloon 
is  the  enemy  of  the  social  agencies  which  stand  for 
the  best  sentiment,  as  well  as  for  the  noblest  con- 
serving forces,  of  our  modern  civilization.  With 
scarcely  an  exception,  the  liquor  papers  throughout 
the  country,  in  their  editorials  and  contributed  art- 
icles, manifest  a  hatred  to  religion  and  a  bitter  hos- 
tility to  the  Church.  They  do  not  hesitate  to  defame 
the  ministers  and  workers  in  social  reform  move- 
ments. I  One  thing  is  clear:  the  saloon  and  the  church 
cannot  thrive  together.)  In  comparing  the  attend- 
ance at  church  with  that  of  the  saloons  of  the  Pad- 
dington  district  of  London  on  a  recent  Sunday,  it 
was  found  that  31,331  persons  attended  church  serv- 
ices and  122,175  were  found  in  liquor  saloons,  of 
whom  38,118  were  women  and  children.  The  sa- 
loon defeats  and  cripples  the  Church's  influence  for 
social  betterment  by  opening  their  doors  on  Sunday 
and  holding  out  temptations  to  young  men  to  grat- 
ify their  lower  nature.  The  result  is  that  the  saloon 
in  many  places  has  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  young 
men  than  have  the  churches.  This  promising  mate- 
rial of  the  community  frequent  the  saloon  and  the 
beer-gardens  in  large  numbers,  especially  on  Sun- 
day, and  absent  themselves  from  religious  service. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  wherever  the  saloon  is 
banished  from  the  community  for  a  period  of  years 
more  young  men  are  found  to  attend  church. 

The  liquor  traffic  is  also  a  hindrance  to  mission 
effort  in  foreign  lands.    The  work  that  the  Church  is 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  49 

aiming  to  do  is  often  nullified  by  this  nefarious  liq- 
uor traffic.  The  effect  of  intoxicating  liquor  and  its 
attendant  evil  among  native  races  in  Africa,  Asia, 
South  America,  and  islands  of  the  sea  has  aroused 
travelers,  explorers,  and  missionaries,  and  led  them 
to  urge  upon  their  respective  governments  the 
suppression  of  the  traffic.  Rev.  C.  S.  Morris  de- 
clares that  the  drink  traffic  causes  the  yearly  whole- 
sale slaughter  of  no  fewer  than  two  millions  of  the 
native  races.  The  treaty  of  sixteen  nations  in  1892 
established  the  principle  of  suppression  of  the  liq- 
uor traffic  in  a  defined  district  in  Africa  which  ought 
to  be  world-wide  in  its  application.  President  Schur- 
man,  speaking  of  the  saloon  in  the  Philippines,  says, 
"I  regret  that  the  Americans  let  the  saloon  get  a 
foothold  in  the  islands.  It  has  hurt  the  Americans 
more  than  anything  else,  and  the  spectacle  of  Amer- 
icans drunk  awakens  disgust  in  the  Filipinos.  We 
suppressed  the  cock-fights  there,  but  left  the  saloon 
to  flourish.  One  emphasized  the  Filipino  frailty 
and  the  other  the  American  vice.  I  have  never  seen 
a  Filipino  drunkard."  The  American  people  can- 
not afford  to  permit  the  demoralization  by  drink  of 
the  half-civilized  people  committed  to  their  care.  It 
follows  that  people  working  to  suppress  the  saloon 
at  home  are  battling  for  the  best  interests  of  the  na- 
tions abroad. 

The  saloon  fosters  an  un-American  spirit  among 
the  foreign-born  population  of  our  countiy.  The  in- 
flux of  foreigners  into  our  urban  centres,  many  of 
whom  have  liquor  habits,  is  a  menace  to  good  gov- 


50  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

eminent.  Whole  classes  of  native-born  Americans 
are  being  redeemed  from  the  saloon,  but  the  foreign- 
born  population  is  largely  under  the  social  and  po- 
litical control  of  the  saloon.  If  the  cities  keep  up 
their  rapid  growth  they  will  soon  have  the  balance 
of  political  power  in  the  nation  and  become  the  storm 
centres  of  political  life.  The  hope  of  perpetuating 
our  liberties  is  to  help  the  foreigner  correct  any 
demoralizing  custom,  and,  through  self-restraint,  to 
assimilate  American  ideals.  At  least  the  children 
of  the  heterogeneous  foreign  population  should  have 
a  wholesome  environment  and  not  be  encouraged 
to  cultivate  the  drink  habit  because  their  parents 
did.  However  much  ethical  standards  may  vary,  no 
citizen  has  any  right  to  demand  that  the  community 
support  a  saloon  to  satisfy  his  appetite  when  it  en- 
dangers the  common  welfare  of  society. 

Of  late  attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  growing  danger  of  race  suicide.  The  birth 
rate  is  falling  off,  and  other  influences  are  at  work  to 
lessen  the  physical  energies  of  the  race.  A  great  Paris 
newspaper  attributes  to  the  enormous  consumption  of 
alcohol  the  fact  that  in  one  year  in  France  the  num- 
ber of  deaths  exceeded  the  number  of  births  by 
twenty  thousand.  No  student  of  the  problem  can 
doubt  that  one  of  the  chief  dangers  of  race  suicide 
springs  from  the  result  of  the  saloon  and  its  attendant 
evils  of  the  drink  habit.  No  less  a  renowned  scholar 
than  Mr.  Darwin  says,  "  It  is  remarkable  that  all  the 
evils  coming  from  alcoholism  pass  from  father  to  son 
even  to  the  third  generation,  becoming  worse  if  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  51 

use  of  alcoholism  is   continued,  until  the  result   is 
sterility." 

The  devastation  of  human  life  that  is  going  on 
silently  but  effectually  all  over  our  land  because  of 
drink  is  fraught  with  frightful  consequences  to  the 
nation.  Intemperance  every  year  is  destroying  its 
victims  by  the  thousands.  The  death  rate  from  this 
cause  cannot  be  ascertained  with  scientific  accuracy, 
since  mortality  statistics  record  only  the  immediate 
causes  of  death  and  take  no  account  of  the  medi- 
ate and  contributing  causes  of  disease  and  death. 
Frequently  physicians  spare  the  feelings  of  relatives 
and  friends  of  a  deceased  patient  by  not  reporting 
the  whole  truth  in  the  case.  The  conclusions  reached 
from  the  statistics  gathered  by  the  Registrar-General 
as  to  the  average  number  of  deaths  among  61,215 
persons  were  that  there  were  two  deaths  among 
drinkers  and  three  among  liquor-sellers  for  every 
one  among  teetotalers.  A  number  of  leading  scien- 
tists connected  with  the  universities  of  Zurich,  Mu- 
nich, Basle,  Leipsic,  and  others,  published  among 
other  things  the  following  statement :  "  It  is  an  ab- 
solutely scientific  fact  that  alcoholic  drinks  more  than 
any  other  factor  injure  our  national  life,  diminish  the 
physical  and  intellectual  forces  of  our  race,  impreg- 
nate them  with  hereditary  diseases,  and  lead  to  de- 
generacy. More  than  half  of  the  inmates  of  our  pen- 
itentiaries have  been  led  into  crime  by  alcohol ;  nearly 
a  fourth  of  the  insane  owe  their  sad  fate  to  alcohol; 
misery,  impoverishment,  and  grossness  of  manner 
are  due  in  thousands  of  cases  to  this  national  poison. 


52  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Alcohol  is  the  certain  cause  of  10%  of  deaths  among 
adults.  Every  year  in  Germany  thirteen  hundred 
persons  lose  their  lives  through  accidents  happening 
as  a  result  of  alcoholic  excess.  Sixteen  hundred  are 
driven  by  alcohol  to  suicide,  and  about  thirty  thou- 
sand are  annually  stricken  with  delirium  tremens  or 
other  brain  troubles."  Valuable  investigation  re- 
garding the  mortality  resulting  from  drink  has  been 
made  by  several  eminent  physicians  and  scientists. 
Dr.  Norman  Kerr,  of  England,  instituted  an  inquiry 
with  the  avowed  object  of  exposing  what  he  sup- 
posed were  exaggerated  temperance  statistics  regard- 
ing mortality  through  the  use  of  alcohol.  The  final 
results  of  his  investigation  led  him  to  say, "  I  was  com- 
pelled to  admit  that  at  least  120,000  of  our  popula- 
tion annually  lost  their  lives  through  alcoholic  ex- 
cess —  40,500  dying  from  their  own  intemperance, 
and  79,500  from  accident,  violence,  poverty,  or 
disease  arising  from  intemperance  of  others."  Dr. 
Wakely,  a  former  editor  of  the  London  Lancet,  de- 
clares that  of  the  1,500  inquests  held  by  him  yearly, 
at  least  900  were  due  to  drink.  Sir  Benjamin  W. 
Richardson,  the  distinguished  British  scientist  and 
investigator,  places  "the  mortality  from  alcohol  at 
one  tenth  of  the  whole  mortality  in  places  where  the 
article  is  consumed  in  the  same  proportion  as  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales,  at  the  present  time  a  proportion 
fairly  representative  of  alcoholic  populations  gener- 
ally." Sir  Andrew  Clark,  late  physician  to  Queen 
Victoria,  said,  "  I  do  not  desire  to  make  out  a  strong 
case;  I  desire  to  make  out  a  true  case.  I  am  speak- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  53 

ing  solemnly  and  carefully  in  the  presence  of  truth, 
and  I  tell  you  that  I  am  considerably  within  the  mark 
when  I  say  that,  going  the  round  of  my  hospital  wards 
to-day,  seven  out  of  every  ten  owed  their  ill  health  to 
alcohol."  The  late  Dr.  Willard  Parker,  the  eminent 
surgeon  of  New  York,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
33^%  of  all  the  deaths  in  New  York  City  were  occa- 
sioned directly  or  indirectly  by  the  use  of  alcoholic 
drinks.  There  is  remarkable  unanimity  among  those 
who  have  made  a  careful  investigation  of  the  prob- 
lem that  "a  minimum  proportion  of  deaths  caused 
by  alcohol  is  10%.  As  there  were  1,039,094  deaths 
in  the  census  year  1900,  that  would  make  about  100,- 
000  as  alcohol's  share." 

These  statements,  based  upon  the  highest  med- 
ical authority,  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  saloon 
is  making  war  upon  the  manhood  and  womanhood 
of  the  nation,  and  depleting  the  ranks  of  its  citizen- 
ship. The  mischief  done  to  society  by  the  saloon 
and  the  tragical  end  of  many  of  its  victims  are  palpa- 
ble. The  fact  that  the  saloon  is  a  social  menace  and 
has  no  valid  defense  will  become  more  apparent  as 
we  proceed  to  consider  its  criminal  aspects. 


54  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CRIMINAL  ASPECTS 


There  is  scarcely  a  crime  beiore  me  that  is  not  directly  or  in- 
directly caused  by  strong  drink. —  JUDGE  COLERIDGE. 

The  great  cause  of  social  crime  is  drink.  The  great  cause  of 
poverty  is  drink.  When  I  hear  of  a  family  broken  up,  I  ask  the 
cause  —  drink.  If  I  go  to  the  gallows,  and  ask  its  victim  the  cause, 
the  answer  —  drink.  Then  I  ask  myself  in  perfect  wonderment, 
Why  do  not  men  put  a  stop  to  this  thing  ? — ARCHBISHOP  IRELAND. 

Let  there  be  an  entire  abstinence  from  intoxicating  drinks 
throughout  this  country  during  the  period  of  a  single  generation, 
and  a  mob  would  be  as  impossible  as  combustion  without  oxygen. — 
HORACE  MANN. 

It  must  be  charged  to  their  environment  that  these  boys  are 
guilty.  The  people  have  allowed  the  conditions  which  have 
brought  these  boys  to  such  a  pass.  It  is  because  the  saloon-keepers 
of  this  city  were  allowed  to  place  to  the  lips  of  the  young  that  which 
fires  the  brain  and  sears  the  soul.  By  imposing  the  death  sentence 
the  court  will  be  striking  at  the  effect,  not  the  cause,  and  if  the 
cause  remains  undisturbed  the  result  will  be  another  such  case  as  a 
righteous  retribution  upon  those  responsible. —  JUDGE  BUCK- 
HAM,  of  Minnesota,  who  pronounced  the  death  sentence  on  two 
boy  murderers. 

The  encouragement  of  drunkenness  for  the  sake  of  the  profit 
on  the  sale  of  drink  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  criminal  methods 
of  assassination  for  money  hitherto  adopted  by  the  bravos  of  any 
age  or  country. —  RUSKIN. 

By  legalizing  this  traffic  we  agree  to  share  with  the  liquor-seller 
the  responsibilities  and  evils  of  his  business.  Every  man  who  votes 
for  license  becomes  of  necessity  a  partner  to  the  liquor  traffic  and 
all  its  consequences. —  WILLIAM  McKiNLEY. 

All  who  sell  liquors  in  the  common  way,  to  any  that  will  buy, 
are  poisoners-general.  They  murder  His  Majesty's  subjects  by 
wholesale;  neither  does  their  eye  pity  nor  spare.  They  drive  them 
to  hell  like  sheep.  And  what  is  their  gain  ?  Is  it  not  the  blood  of 
these  men  ?  Who,  then,  would  envy  their  large  estates  and  sump- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  55 

tuous  palaces  ?  A  curse  is  in  the  midst  of  them.  The  curse  of  God 
is  in  their  gardens,  their  groves  —  a  fire  that  burns  to  the  nether- 
most hell.  Blood,  blood,  is  there!  The  foundation,  the  floors,  the 
walls,  the  roof,  are  stained  with  blood. —  JOHN  WESLEY,  1760. 


THE  saloon  has  the  distinction  of  standing  first 
in  this  country  in  the  production  of  crimes 
and  criminals.  Though  the  topic  is  grue- 
some, and  there  is  a  general  aversion  to  criminals  as 
the  enemies  to  society,  yet  the  scientific  study  of  crim- 
inology and  penology  as  connected  with  the  liquor 
traffic  has  a  special  value  and  importance  for  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  problem  under  consideration.  In 
tracing  the  relations  of  the  saloon  to  crime  it  is  well  to 
keep  in  mind  that  we  are  dealing  with  it  as  an  insti- 
tution, and  not  with  the  saloon-keeper.  Many  of  the 
latter  class  are  morally  obtuse  and  act  with  criminal 
intent,  but  the  majority  of  them  are  foreigners,  who 
have  the  customs  of  the  mother  country  -dinging  to 
them,  and  hence  are  largely  the  products  of  their  en- 
vironment. This  fact,  however,  does  not  excuse 
them  from  being  a  party  to  the  evil  consequences 
growing  out  of  the  traffic.  Crime  is  disobedience  to 
the  formulated  spirit  and  laws  of  society.  The 
causes  of  crime  may  arise  from  the  character  of  the 
individual,  or  from  adverse  social  and  economic 
conditions,  or  from  some  predisposing  tendency  or 
habit.  Many  of  these  causes  mingle  and  blend  in 
their  operation  with  others.  It  is  not  always  easy  to 
separate  them.  Those  who  are  comfortably  fed  and 
housed  have  very  little  conception  of  the  unfavorable 
conditions  and  surroundings  that  make  for  crime. 


56  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Through  loss  of  money  or  friends  many  are  forced 
into  the  atmosphere  of  poverty,  vile  companions, 
and  places  where  there  is  a  total  lack  of  sanitation 
and  proper  food.  Some  of  these  conditions  of  inde- 
scribable and  pitiable  misery  help  to  generate  crime. 
In  many  cases  it  may  be  said  that  vice  and  crime  are 
effects,  rather  than  causes.  One  way  to  lessen  crime 
is  to  ameliorate  conditions. 

^The  chief  cause  of  crime  is  chargeable  to  the  sa- 
loon. 7  It  deals  out  poisonous  intoxicants  that  help 
to  create  and  develop  the  criminal  propensities.  The 
pivotal  point  is  that  it  produces,  or  tends  to  produce, 
conditions  favorable  to  criminal  action.  If  we  are  to 
draw  moral  distinctions  with  the  clearness  of  a  line 
of  cleavage,  it  is  important  to  distinguish  between 
the  tendencies  of  conduct  that  lead  to  overt  acts  of 
crime  and  the  commission  of  crime  itself.  A  study 
of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  shows  that 
immoral  books  or  pictures  that  tend  to  corrupt  youth, 
open  to  such  influences,  as  well  as  lotteries,  gambling- 
dens,  and  saloons  that  tend  to  lead  to  crime,  are 
implicated  in  wrong-doing,  and  hence  are  criminal. 
The  whole  moral  question  hinges  on  the  criminal 
tendencies  and  the  welfare  of  society.  The  saloon, 
if  not  the  prime  cause,  is  the  predisposing  and  ex- 
citing cause  of  a  large  per  cent  of  crime.  It  works 
up  the  nerves  to  an  unnatural  height  of  excitement. 
The  victims  become  passionate,  irritable,  and  un- 
reasonable. Dr.  Felix  L.  Oswald,  the  eminent  nat- 
uralist, says:  "In  summing  up  the  prevalent  causes 
of  crime,  we  shall  find  that  intemperance  must  in 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  57 

every  case  be  regarded  either  as  a  direct  or  indirect 
factor  of  the  conditions  favoring  the  development  of 
a  vicious  disposition."  The  saloon  becomes  the  pre- 
paratory and  determining  cause  of  crime  in  so  far  as 
it  inflames  passion,  dethrones  reason,  and  renders 
dormant  the  moral  faculties,  and  thus  prepares  its 
patrons  to  participate  in  all  classes  of  crimes.  In 
view  of  these  facts,  it  is  not  a  mere  accident  that  there 
should  be  an  almost  unfailing  connection  between 
the  saloon  and  crime. 

The  fact  that  saloons  harbor  the  criminal  classes, 
and  that  they  abound  near  gambling-dens,  bawdy- 
houses,  and  other  disgraceful  places,  only  aggra- 
vates the  criminal  conditions.  (The  criminals,  the 
gamblers,  the  thieves,  the  prostitutes,  and  the  vicious 
class  generally  support  the  saloon,  and,  in  turn,  the 
saloon  furnishes  recruits  for  those  resorts,  and  thus 
crime  flourishes.  The  saloon  becomes  a  veritable 
school  and  hotbed  of  crime,  because  of  its  progres- 
sive demoralizing  associations.  Here  it  is  that  crime 
finds  its  genesis  and  an  abiding-place.)  Few  can 
measure  the  deadly  effects  of  saloon  associations. 
Many  unsuspecting  and  plastic  youths  who  are  en- 
snared and  drawn  into  the  saloon  meet  and  come 
under  the  moulding  influences  of  the  professional 
criminal  and  accomplished  villain,  and  become  pre- 
pared for  a  life  of  crime.  ( A  few  historical  incidents 
will  bear  out  the  statement  that  anarchism  of  the 
revolutionary  type  is  the  faithful  ally  of  the  saloon. 
The  "  Wilkey  Booth's  gang"  always  met  in  a  saloon, 
and  Booth,  the  assassin,  was  a  heavy  drinker.  "Of 


58  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

those  who  were  hanged  when  Lincoln  was  no  more, 
George  A.  Atzerot,  Lewis  Payne,  and  David  E.  Her- 
ald were  known  to  be  common^  drunkards.  Mrs. 
Surratt  was  herself  a  rum-seller.")  On  the  morning 
that  Guiteau  assassinated  President  Garfield  he  en- 
tered a  saloon,  and  he  had  been  drinking  more 
heavily  than  usual.  The  bartender  said  to  him, 
"  Guiteau,  what  is  the  matter  to-day  ?  You  are  drink- 
ing heavier  than  usual."  The  assassin  replied,  "Yes, 
I  have  heavier  work  on  hand  than  usual  to-day."  He 
went  forth  from  the  saloon,  nerved  by  strong  drink, 
to  commit  the  heinous  crime.  !  The  man  who  assassi- 
nated President  McKinley  was  likewise  a  product 
of  the  saloon.  He  received  his  early  education  in  his 
father's  saloon,  and  had  worked  for  some  time  in  a 
brewery.  He  once  kept  a  saloon,  and  for  three  days 
preceding  his  deed  of  violence  made  his  home  in  a 
saloon  in  Buffalo. )  After  the  sad  tragedy  some  an- 
archists met  in  saloons  to  congratulate  one  another, 
and  to  cheer  the  name  of  the  red-handed  assassin. 
No  one  can  contemplate  these  crimes  and  many 
others  of  like  nature  without  finding  it  difficult  to 
speak  of  the  saloon  in  temperate  language. 

The  saloon  is  not  only  the  home  of  the  assassin, 
but  it  develops  a  debasing  and  deceptive  spirit  that 
conspires  to  murder  the  men  who  seek  to  bring  the 
law-breakers  before  the  courts  instituted  for  the  pro- 
tection of  society.  We  need  only  to  cite  the  murder 
of  Haddock,  of  Sioux  City,  and  the  blowing  up  of 
three  houses  in  Muscatine,  Iowa,  when  the  families 
were  asleep,  and  a  multiplied  number  of  similar  in- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  59 

stances,  to  show  the  criminal  aspect  of  the  saloon. 
The  cases  cited  are  only  samples  of  how  some  of 
these  fiends,  black-hearted  with  deceit  and  red- 
handed  with  cruelty,  wait  for  the  opportunity  to  do 
some  deadly  work  against  those  who  actively  oppose 
their  nefarious  traffic.  No  sane  man  can  truthfully 
say  that  the  assertion  that  there  is  a  connection 
between  the  saloon  and  these  crimes  is  merely  sen- 
timental 

The  officials  of  prisons  and  penitentiaries  and  re- 
form schools  all  over  the  country  unite  in  testifying 
that  a  large  proportion  of  crime  is  due  directly  or  in- 
directly to  the  liquor  traffic.  Not  long  since,  a  gen- 
eral average  of  testimony  gathered  from  1,017  keep- 
ers of  county  jails  in  various  portions  of  the  United 
States  showed  that  the  proportion  of  crime  due  to 
drink  was  72%.  That  the  saloon  is  destructive  of  so- 
cial order  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  prison  statistics. 
The  whole  number  of  cases  brought  before  the  Boston 
municipal  criminal  court  for  the  year  ending  Oct.  1, 
1903,  was  23,525 ;  of  this  number,  17,118  were  cases  of 
drunks.  There  were  8,525  cases  of  commitments  for 
jail  offences  in  Connecticut  for  1902:  4,617  of  these 
were  for  drunkenness,  and  6,946  of  the  total,  or  about 
82%, by  their  own  confession  pleaded  guilty  as  drink- 
ers of  intoxicants.  In  one  year  there  were  82,000  ar- 
rests made  in  Chicago.  The  city  prosecutor  recently 
said,  "  It  is  true  that  three  fourths  of  the  crimes  of 
Chicago  are  due  to  liquor."  The  Superintendent  of 
Bridewell  says,  "  Liquor  is  the  cause  of  the  incarcer- 
ation of  80%  of  those  who  are  committed  to  the  Bride- 


60  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

well."  The  prison  warden  of  Pittsburg  reports:  "Of 
7,579  convicts  sent  to  jail  during  1902,  nearly  every 
one  was  treated  for  alcoholism,  while  of  this  number 
709  suffered  from  acute  delirium  tremens,  seven  dy- 
ing." Mayor  A.  F.  Knotts,  of  Hammond,  Indiana, 
says,  "Ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  crime  is  caused 
directly  or  indirectly  by  drink.  The  police  records 
of  our  city  show  that  more  than  90%  of  all  the  offences 
committed  are  the  results  of  intemperance,  and  that 
our  police  force,  maintained  at  an  expense  of  $15,- 
000  a  year,  is  almost  wholly  and  exclusively  em- 
ployed in  watching  and  caring  for  men,  women,  and 
children  affected  by  drink."  Hon.  S.  M.  Nichols,  for- 
mer mayor  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  with  a 
population  of  60,000,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  saloons,  testifies  thus:  "During  my  seven  years' 
tenure  of  office  I  have  had  about  seven  thousand 
cases  before  me,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  about  90% 
of  them  were  the  result  of  drunkenness."  Judge 
Severance  says,  "  During  my  nineteen  years  as  judge 
of  the  district  court  I  have  sentenced  nearly  four 
hundred  people  to  the  penitentiary,  and  I  have 
traced  90%  of  this  crime  to  liquor-drinking."  The 
report  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics  on 
the  influence  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  regard  to  crim- 
inals informs  us  that  "82%  were  in  liquor  at  the 
time  of  offence,"  and  that  "in  84%  the  intemper- 
ate habits  of  the  offenders  led  to  a  condition  which 
induced  the  crime."  More  than  this,  that,  "exclud- 
ing minors,  ninety-six  to  every  one  hundred  were 
addicted  to  the  use  of  liquors."  The  report  of  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  61 

Chicago  grand  jury  for  December,  1900,  has  this 
significant  statement:  "The  fact  that  at  least  90%  of 
all  criminal  cases  coming  directly  before  this  body 
have  some  saloon  connection,  direct  or  indirect,  con- 
vinces us  that  the  interest  of  public  morals  will  be 
subserved  by  a  strict  enforcement  of  existing  ordi- 
nances governing  the  conduct  of  the  saloon."  Sim- 
ilar testimony  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely  to 
show  that  the  saloon  is  the  mother  of  crime,  and  the 
greatest  menace  to  social  order. 

Another  pertinent  fact  is  that  the  saloon  is  law- 
less, and  as  such  is  the  enemy  of  good  government. 
As  society  is  constituted,  laws  are  essential  to  good 
order  and  social  well-being.  Those  who  put  them- 
selves openly  in  the  way  of  the  people  as  expressed 
in  their  laws  strike  at  the  foundation  of  civil  author- 
ity. The  saloon-keepers  as  a  class  seemingly  have 
no  regard  for  any  law  that  prevents  them  from  being 
a  law  unto  themselves.  They  appeal  to  law  for  the 
protection  of  their  own  rights  and  property,  and  at 
the  same  time  set  themselves  deliberately  to  defy 
law  whenever  it  runs  counter  to  their  interests. 
Abundant  proof  of  this  defiant  spirit  of  lawlessness 
finds  expression  in  the  official  utterances  of  papers 
devoted  to  saloon  interests.  Fair  Play,  a  liquor  or- 
gan of  Illinois,  says :  "  The  laws  of  this  State  govern- 
ing the  liquor  trade  are  so  severe  that  there  is  not  a 
licensed  saloon-keeper  in  Illinois  that  does  not  lay 
himself  liable  to  prosecution  under  the  law  a  dozen 
times  each  day."  Those  who  violate  the  law  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  contrary  to  their  desires,  or  on  the 


62  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

ground  that  public  sentiment  is  against  it,  are  anar- 
chists of  the  most  revolutionary  type.  The  National 
Advocate,  a  liquor  organ,  says:  "In  our  meetings 
the  saloon-men  merely  demand  the  right  to  defy  any 
man  who  shall  impose  upon  them  any  law  that  is 
against  them.  Such  laws  ought  to  be  defied;  they 
should  be  trampled  in  the  dust ;  and  if  they  cannot  be 
revised,  then  we  say  it  is  time  to  become  anarchists." 
A  class  of  citizens  that  seek  a  nullification  of  laws 
in  this  spirit  forfeit  all  right  to  American  citizenship. 
The  saloons  likewise  defy  authority  and  contra- 
vene the  laws  of  the  State  by  keeping  open  bar  on 
the  Sabbath.  They  do  this  in  the  most  boastful  spirit. 
The  same  liquor  organ  some  time  since  said:  "We 
agree  with  the  narrow-minded  people  of  the  State  of 
Ohio  that  the  Sunday  ordinance  is  a  law,  but,  like 
the  slave  law,  it  should  never  have  been  made,  for 
this  glorious  country  is  supposed  to  be  one  of  free- 
dom." In  defending  this  advice  to  law-breakers,  The 
Wine  and  Spirit  News  makes  the  following  com- 
ment :  ' '  And  then  because  one  element  of  the  voting 
population  is  able  by  a  dozen  votes,  or  even  less,  to 
say  that  the  opposing  element  must  not  purchase  or 
consume  stimulants,  is  a  piece  of  legislation  contrary 
to  the  very  spirit  of  legislation.  It  is  a  matter  that 
law-makers  should  have  nothing  to  do  with."  This 
spirit  animates  the  whole  trend  of  saloon  thought. 
It  shows  that  the  words  are  spoken  in  defiance  of  the 
civil  laws  and  of  the  highest  courts  of  the  land.  When 
the  saloon  element  disregards  all  ethical  codes  and 
moral  standards  and  gives  expression  to  such  law- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


less  utterances  they  are  out  of  harmony  with  Amer- 
ican principles,  and  become  anarchists  and  crim- 
inals of  the  worst  type.  Saloons  not  only  openly 
violate  law  with  impunity,  but  where  a  majority  in 
a  county  or  municipality  or  town  choose  to  vote  out 
the  saloon,  not  infrequently  the  saloon-keepers  start 
speak-easies  and  blind-tigers,  and  connive  with  others 
to  break  the  law  by  selling  liquor  clandestinely.  We 
have  a  well-warranted  suspicion  that  they  deliber- 
ately plan  to  get  men  drunk,  and  send  them  to  pa- 
rade the  streets  when  they  are  the  most  crowded  with 
people,  in  order  to  show  that  the  prohibitory  law  is  a 
failure,  hoping  by  this  means  to  win  the  people  back 
to  the  policy  of  high  license.  Many  good  people  are 
thus  hoodwinked  and  betrayed  into  the  belief  that 
there  is  more  drunkenness  when  the  saloons  are  voted 
out  than  when  they  are  permitted  to  run  wide  open. 
The  prevalence  of  mob  violence  is  largely  incited 
by  the  saloon  that  carries  on  its  traffic  in  defiance  of 
law.  The  mob  spirit  is  growing  to  an  alarming  ex- 
tent in  this  country.  It  draws  its  inspiration  largely 
from  the  saloons,  as  the  chief  breeders  of  lawlessness. 
They  do  not  hold  themselves  amenable  to  any  law  that 
hinders  their  rapacious  greed  for  money X  The  rela- 
tion of  the  saloon  to  mob  violence  is  a  well-attested 
fact.  The  history  of  the  great  Hay  Market  Riot  in 
Chicago  and  the  mob  violence  in  Cincinnati,  Pitts- 
burg,  and  other  cities  show  conclusively  that  the  sa- 
loons were  the  headquarters  of  the  plots  and  schemes 
of  the  leaders.^ Even  the  city  authorities  are  some- 
times in  collusion  with  the  saloons  to  disregard  ex- 


64  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

isting  laws.    This  fact  has  often  encouraged  the  sa- 
loon votaries  and  sympathizers  to  open  violence  and 
riot.    We  cite  a  recent  incident  of  a  long  series  of 
crimes  with  which  the  liquor  traffic  is  justly  charge- 
able. (These  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.)  A  riot 
began  in  Evansville,  Indiana,  on  July  4,  and  ended 
on  July  11,  1903,  resulting  in  ten  deaths  and  thirty- 
five  others  injured,  besides  wrecking  property  and 
looting  stores.    The  State  troops  were  called  out  to 
quell  the  riot.    The  first  step  the  city  authorities  took 
to  subdue  the  mob  was  to  close  the  saloons  as  the 
chief  source  of  the  lawlessness,  but  they  had  locked 
the  door  after  the  horse  was  stolen.    The  mob  was 
inflamed  by  strong  drink,  which  became  the  inci- 
ting cause  of  a  reign  of  terror.     The  city,  having  a 
population  of  70,000,  and  three  hundred  and  ten 
saloons,    enjoyed    wide-open    privileges,    and    was 
filled  at  the  time  with  gamblers,  roughs,  beer-drink- 
ing and  carousing  individuals.    The  saloon  was  the 
source  of  the  explosion  of  bad  passions  and  public 
disorders  which  followed  these  carousals.    The  brew- 
eries which  supported  the  wide-open  saloon  policies 
afterwards  discharged  three  militiamen  in  their  em- 
ploy who,  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  State, 
assisted  in  putting  down  the  very  lawlessness  which 
they  and  the  saloon  sympathizers  promoted.    Such 
men  rank  with  the  most  vicious  elements  of  society, 
and  they  themselves  are  criminals  and  enemies  of 
social  order. 

Furthermore,  it  would  be  an  easy  task  to   show 
that  a  large  part  of  the  social  disorder  attending 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  65 

strikes  is  caused  by  the  saloon.  When  the  strike  is 
on  the  leaders  strongly  urge  the  strikers  to  leave 
liquor  alone  and  to  keep  out  of  saloons.  When  a 
man  is  smarting  under  a  sense  of  injustice  a  drink 
of  liquor  is  likely  to  aggravate  his  feeling  of  injury 
and  to  lead  him  into  trouble.  During  a  recent  labor 
riot  in  one  of  our  large  cities  the  chief  of  police  said: 
"The  saloons  are  the  refuge  of  the  rioters  every 
time.  In  the  beginning  of  the  trouble,  when  the  po- 
lice were  trying  to  cope  with  the  disturbances,  every 
time  we  would  charge  a  crowd  that  was  creating 
disturbance  they  would  melt  away  into  the  saloons, 
and,  if  the  police  tried  to  follow,  the  front  door  would 
be  held  long  enough  to  give  the  rioters  a  chance  to 
escape  out  of  the  back  door."  Similar  corroborative 
testimony  might  be  given  at  great  length  —  but  why 
multiply  them  when  the  facts  are  patent  to  every 
observing  mind? 

It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  political  ma- 
chinery of  this  country  is  largely  contaminated  by 
bribery,  carried  on  chiefly  through  the  agency  of  the 
saloon.  The  purchase  of  votes  by  the  political  par- 
ties at  our  general  elections  is  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge.  The  awful  nature  of  this  crime  strikes 
at  the  very  roots  of  our  liberty,  and  undermines  the 
suffrage  rights  of  every  citizen.  The  fact  that  such 
practices  exist  is  a  striking  indictment  against  our 
civilization.  Again,  the  highest  court  of  the  land  re- 
gards the  saloon  as  an  habitual  criminal.  It  gives 
no  uncertain  sound  in  these  pregnant  words:  "By 
the  general  concurrence  of  opinion  of  every  civilized 


66  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

and  Christian  community,  there  are  few  sources  of 
crime  and  misery  to  society  equal  to  the  dramshop, 
where  intoxicating  liquors  in  small  quantities  to  be 
drunk  at  the  time  are  sold  indiscriminately  to  all  par- 
ties applying.  The  statistics  of  every  State  show  a 
greater  amount  of  crime  attributable  to  this  than  to 
any  other  source."  The  abundant  corroborative 
evidence  is  all  the  more  significant  when  we  face  the 
appalling  fact  that  there  were  in  1903  no  less  than 
8,976  murders  and  homicides  in  this  country.  The 
saloon  that  inflames  passion  and  makes  possible  gen- 
eral lawlessness  and  bad  government  in  cities  is 
largely  responsible  for  this  community  murder.  It 
is  folly  to  presume  on  the  intelligence  of  the  reader 
and  prolong  the  discussion  by  heaping  up  indict- 
ments, j  It  is  impossible  to  mention  the  catalogue  of 
saloon  crimes  and  debauchery.  The  daily  journals 
of  the  world  record  the  awful  list  of  these  as  a  per- 
petual indictment  against  the  liquor  traffic.  The 
criminologists,  the  reformers,  the  statesmen,  the  ju- 
rists, and  men  eminent  in  all  lines  of  public  service 
declare  in  the  strongest  language  that  the  saloon  is 
the  incarnation  of  depravity  and  the  greatest  crim- 
inal agency  on  earth. ; 

The  reader  who  has  followed  closely  this  short 
study  of  the  economic,  political,  social,  and  criminal 
aspects  of  the  saloon  will  justify  the  conclusion  that 
the  gravity  and  magnitude  of  the  problem  is  appall- 
ing. There  has  been  no  desire  to  unjustly  arraign 
the  saloon  or  to  overdraw  the  facts,  but  to  render  a 
calm,  guarded,  and  truthful  statement  of  the  social 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  67 

situation.  We  are  not  of  those  who  think  that  all 
social  woes  are  attributable  to  the  saloon.  How- 
ever, the  irrefutable  testimony  of  experts  concern- 
ing the  close  connection  between  the  saloon  and 
much  of  the  demoralized  industrial  and  social  con- 
dition goes  to  show  that  the  saloon  is  the  greatest 
scourge  of  the  American  people.  It  is  entrenched 
in  wealth,  custom,  trade,  and  organization.  It 
thwarts  the  purposes  of  government,  tampers  with 
legislation,  corrupts  the  courts  of  justice,  undermines 
civic  virtue,  and  debauches  public  sentiment.  It  not 
only  shelters  criminals,  thieves,  gamblers,  and  houses 
of  infamy,  but  overflows  the  borders  of  decency  and 
flaunts  itself  in  the  street.  It  pollutes  the  moral  and 
social  atmosphere  of  every  community  it  touches. 
Every  thoughtful  citizen  is  startled  at  its  progeny  of 
crime,  pauperism,  and  insanity.  No  one  can  log- 
ically defend  or  tolerate  it.  This  autocratic  and 
merciless  enemy  of  the  race  is  irretrievably  con- 
demned by  facts,  by  reason,  by  conscience,  by  the 
decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  by  the  Church,  and 
by  God  himself.  It  is  not  entitled  to  the  protection 
of  the  law  or  the  sanction  of  the  State.  It  is  unwor- 
thy a  place  in  our  Christian  civilization.  No  one 
who  has  a  care  for  suffering,  sorrowing  humanity 
can  afford  to  hold  his  peace  in  the  presence  of  this 
enemy  of  social  welfare  and  not  to  work  strenuously 
for  the  time  when  this  foul  blot  will  be  wiped  out 
from  our  otherwise  fair  land. 

It  may  be  asked,  Who  is  responsible  for  the  in- 
iquitous saloon  ?     Some  things  are  obvious.     The 


68  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

State  that  legalizes  the  beverage-liquor  traffic  prac- 
tically legalizes  the  process  of  making  drunkards. 
The  most  damnable  phase  of  the  liquor  problem  is 
that  the  State  makes  the  liquor-seller  pay  for  the 
privilege  of  continuing  in  a  traffic  that  by  its  very 
nature  and  consequences  is  criminal.  If  we  read 
these  facts  to  any  purpose,  it  is  that  the  State  is  in 
complicity  and  partnership  with  the  saloon.  But 
the  State  is  a  psychic  organism  composed  of  indi- 
viduals. It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  we,  all  of 
us,  the  people  of  a  Christian  democracy,  who  carry 
the  right  of  sovereignty  underneath  our  hats.  We, 
the  people,  make  or  unmake  rulers,  legislators,  and 
public  officers.  Hence,  we,  the  people,  are  respon- 
sible for  the  acts  of  our  chosen  and  authorized  agents. 
If  they  violate  their  sacred  obligations  as  public  offi- 
cials, our  plain  duty  is  to  exercise  the  right  of  recall 
by  vote  at  the  succeeding  election.  If  we  trace  through 
the  political  genealogy  in  order  to  fix  responsibility 
for  the  State's  complicity  in  the  saloon  evils,  we  find 
that  back  of  the  saloon  is  the  State  license,  and  back 
of  the  State  license  is  the  voter.  Hence  the  man  who 
votes  for  license  practically  authorizes  the  saloon- 
keeper to  be  his  agent.  Under  the  common  law,  a 
principal  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  his  agent ;  con- 
sequently, the  man  who  votes  for  license,  or  acqui- 
esces in  the  same  by  failing  through  indifference  to 
vote,  shares  in  the  responsibility  for  the  saloon  and 
all  the  evil  consequences  which  spring  from  it.  It 
is  clear  according  to  all  legal  sanction  that  the  saloon- 
keepers, together  with  their  patrons  and  sympathiz- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  69 

ers,  are  particeps  criminis  in  all  the  crimes  involved 
in  the  traffic.  Jesus  said,  "Woe  unto  the  world  be- 
cause of  offences,  but  woe  unto  the  man  by  whom 
the  offence  cometh."  His  woe  is  upon  the  drunkard, 
and  it  is  equally  pronounced  and  emphatic  upon  the 
man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh,  through  giving 
his  neighbor  to  drink,  or,  by  vote,  or  indifference  to 
voting,  authorizing  the  saloon-keeper  as  agent  to 
give  him  intoxicants  to  make  him  drunk. 

The  saloon  depends  for  its  existence  upon  two 
classes  of  people:  first,  upon  its  patrons  and  sympa- 
thizers; second,  upon  the  indifferent  and  apathetic 
citizens  who,  for  fear  of  giving  offence  or  for  business 
considerations,  will  uphold  it.  The  latter  are  in  the 
majority  and  can  vote  out  the  saloon  whenever  they 
come  together  and  choose  to  do  so.  Hence  we  are 
forced  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  the  man 
most  culpable  for  the  existence  of  the  saloon  is  the 
one  who  through  carelessness  or  indifference  re- 
mains away  from  the  political  caucus  and  the  polls, 
and  has  no  serious  concern  or  care  for  civic  righteous- 
ness. This  quality  of  citizenship  is  the  chief  barrier 
in  the  way  of  abolishing  the  saloons.  The  man  most 
to  be  pitied  in  our  Christian  democracy  is  the  one 
who  lacks  the  altruistic  spirit,  and  prefers  to  sit  in  a 
home  of  luxury,  and  toast  himself  before  a  fire,  or  to 
read  and  weep  over  Dickens 's  story  of  the  death  of 
little  Nell,  rather  than  to  help  right  the  social  wrongs 
about  him  by  nominating  and  electing  worthy  men 
to  positions  of  public  influence  and  power.  Such 
men  never  feel  the  force  of  strong  moral  convictions 


70  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

tugging  at  their  heart-strings.  As  far  as  being  of  any 
service  to  the  community  is  concerned  they  might  as 
well  be  in  the  heart  of  Africa.  They  selfishly  appro- 
priate all  the  benefits  of  free  institutions  and  of  an 
advancing  civilization  without  contributing  anything 
to  perpetuate  them.  They  forfeit  their  political  birth- 
right to  the  noblest  privileges  of  self-government. 
Respected  citizens  and  all  who  help  by  vote  or  in- 
fluence to  continue  the  saloon  system  become  silent 
partners  in  the  general  social  disorder  contingent 
upon  it.  Consequently,  the  attitude  each  citizen  takes 
toward  the  liquor  traffic  becomes  a  matter  of  serious 
moment.  It  is  a  question  whether  he  shall  help  to 
make  the  task  easy  or  difficult  to  bring  to  this  world 
a  kingdom  where  all  organized  iniquity  shall  be  ban- 
ished, and  where  peace  and  good  will  shall  reign 
among  men. 


THE  ESSENTIAL,  COORDINATING 

SOCIAL  FORCES  INVOLVED  IN  THE 

SOLUTION  OF  THE  PROBLEM 


CHAPTER  V 

FEDERATED  MOVEMENT  OF  MORAL 
FORCES 

The  church  that  is  not  up  in  arms  against  the  liquor  traffic  is 
not  true  to  the  interests  of  the  Saviour  of  mankind.  There  can, 
be  no  compromise  here. —  FATHER  T.  J.  COFFEY. 

Not  until  the  Church  of  Christ  puts  down  the  liquor  traffic  can 
it  regain  its  hold  on  tempted  men. —  FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 

We  must  carry  the  principles  of  the  prayer  meeting  into  our 
Christian  citizenship  and  vote  as  we  pray,  to  enforce  our  prayers. 
We  will  never  do  much  against  the  liquor  traffic  until  we  give  vast 
sums  of  money  to  promote  the  anti-saloon  crusade. —  BISHOP 
JOSEPH  F.  BERRY. 

O  for  the  time  when  decent  men  everywhere,  of  whatever 
party,  voters  and  officials  together,  shall  unite  to  say,  "The  saloon 
is  wrong.  Sunday  and  week-day  it  is  wrong.  If  it  exists  at  all,  it 
must  exist  against  our  protest,  and  in  spite  of  our  determined  and 
unceasing  assaults!"  —  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  WORLD. 

A  BRIEF  statement  of  some  of  the  aspects  of 
the  saloon  problem  has  been  made  in  the 
previous  chapters.  The  essential  social  fac- 
tors which  enter  into  the  solution  of  the  problem,  to- 
gether with  the  underlying  social  principles  involved 
and  the  method  of  their  application,  now  require  our 
thoughtful  consideration.  It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  in  the  pathway  of  social  reform  there  is  danger 
of  confounding  method  with  principle.  Principle  is 
essential  and  enduring,  and  admits  of  no  liberty  of 
choice.  Method,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  mode  of  oper- 
ation through  the  conscious  effort  of  man  to  apply 
principle.  The  one  is  changeless,  the  other  circum- 

73 


74  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

stantial.  Whenever  method  is  exalted  to  the  plane  of 
principle,  then  it  becomes  so  antagonistic  in  its  re- 
sults as  to  subvert  and  oppose  the  very  principle 
professedly  accepted.  Men  who  accomplish  the 
most  for  social  welfare  do  not  sacrifice  principle  up- 
on the  altar  of  expediency.  While  they  stand  firmly 
for  principle,  they  are  willing  to  make  concessions 
and  lay  aside  prejudice  as  to  methods  of  action  for 
the  sake  of  unity  and  efficiency  in  advancing  the 
cause  espoused. 

The  saloon  problem  has  an  intimate  connection 
with  other  reforms.  This  particular  reform  is  singled 
out  because  it  stands  at  the  forefront  of  many  social 
ills.  However,  if  the  methods  of  treatment  of  this 
reform  are  true  to  human  life  and  experience,  they 
will  be  found  serviceable  in  others.  Then,  again, 
the  success  of  one  social  reform  makes  it  easier  for 
another  to  triumph.  Let  it  be  observed  at  the  out- 
set that  the  solution  of  the  saloon  problem  is  not  to 
be  found  apart  from  existing  social  institutions  and 
agencies,  nor  in  something  foreign  to  the  common 
life  of  the  people.  The  essential  social  agencies  and 
means  involved  are  already  recognized  in  our  social 
economy.  The  imperative  need  is  that  they  should 
be  better  understood,  systematized,  and  coordinated, 
in  order  to  secure  definite  results.  Students  of  the 
saloon  problem  realize  that  it  has  many  ramifications. 
There  are  so  many  sides  to  the  question  that  no  one 
social  agency  working  singly  and  alone  can  settle  it. 
In  a  Christian  democracy  there  are  legislative,  judi- 
cial, and  executive  branches  of  government.  Each 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  75 

has  its  respective  function,  with  coordinate  powers, 
to  deal  with  the  saloon  problem.  The  reform,  to  be 
effective,  should  have  the  cooperation  of  all  these 
social  agencies.  Any  appeal  to  the  Legislature  for 
laws  to  restrict  or  prohibit  the  giant  evil  of  the  open 
saloon  is  too  frequently  met  by  the  rebuff  that  no 
more  laws  will  be  enacted  against  the  saloon  until 
the  existing  anti-saloon  laws  are  enforced.  If  one 
turn  to  the  executive  officers,  who  have  sworn  to 
perform  faithfully  their  duty,  and  demand  the  en- 
forcement of  laws  regarding  the  saloon  evil,  the  reply 
comes  back  that  should  they  rigidly  enforce  the 
same,  public  sentiment  and  the  moral  forces  will 
not  sustain  them  at  the  coming  election.  Likewise 
appeal  to  the  courts  of  justice  for  redress  is  too  often 
in  vain.  It  frequently  happens  that  when  one  of 
these  branches  of  government  does  its  duty  another 
finds  a  way  to  nullify  its  action.  The  Church,  like- 
wise, has  signally  failed  to  meet  its  responsibilities 
regarding  this  social  wrong.  Each  social  agency  that 
has  a  part  in  grappling  with  the  saloon  problem  is 
shifting  the  responsibility  from  one  to  another.  The 
time  has  come  for  the  anti-saloon  forces  to  help  fix 
responsibility  by  adopting  rational  methods  to  coor- 
dinate the  various  social  agencies  which  have  to  deal 
with  the  saloon  problem,  and  to  make  them  work 
and  co-work  for  the  overthrow  of  the  common  foe. 

The  most  important  of  the  coordinating  agencies 
in  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  that  of  the  federated 
churches.  A  united  Church  has  no  equal  as  a  gen- 
erator of  public  opinion  and  for  active  sympathy  in 


76  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

reform  efforts.  The  social  function  of  the  Church 
is  to  help  translate  the  divine  social  ideals  into  social 
actualities.  Hence  there  is  need  of  a  clear  and  com- 
prehensive notion  as  to  the  content  of  the  social  ideal. 
The  mental  conception  of  what  ought  to  be  is  the 
test  of  conduct  and  the  measure  of  effort.  The 
dream  is  the  forerunner  of  reality.  The  Church  is 
awakening  to  a  fuller  consciousness  that  the  divine 
social  ideal  eventually  to  be  realized  in  this  world 
is  expressed  in  the  prayer  that  God's  will  shall  be 
done  on  earth  in  the  same  cheerful,  happy  manner 
that  the  angelic  host  do  his  will  in  heaven.  The  gov- 
erning principles  of  Christianity  are  not  only  to  be 
wrought  into  individual  lives,  but  also  interwoven 
into  the  whole  social  fabric.  The  evident  aim  of  the 
divine  social  ideal  is  to  have  the  spirit  of  the  Master 
interpenetrate  all  human  activities,  and  become  in- 
corporated in  all  social  institutions.  Jesus  calls  this 
ideal  condition  of  society  a  kingdom  of  righteous- 
ness. In  other  words,  it  implies  that  it  is  a  kingdom 
of  right  relations  among  men,  wherein  each  one  shall 
love  his  neighbor  as  he  loves  himself.  The  thought 
of  the  kingdom  is  full  of  rich  significance,  and  em- 
braces all  that  is  highest,  deepest,  and  best  in  human 
life.  This  glorious  ideal  outshines  the  brightest  vis- 
ions of  the  old  prophets  and  becomes  the  inspiration 
of  every  Christian  heart.  It  is  the  goal  of  all  human 
efforts  in  modern  day.  God  does  not  mock  his  peo- 
ple when  he  teaches  them  to  pray  and  work  for  these 
ideal  social  conditions.  He  expects  his  followers  to 
maintain  an  optimistic  attitude  and  to  be  co-work- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  77 

ers  with  himself  in  the  realization  of  an  ideal  which 
so  worthily  accords  with  human  facts  and  human 
possibilities.  The  root  problem  before  us,  then,  is 
the  realization  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  carry  out  the 
work  begun  by  the  Master.  The  Church  is  the  chief 
agency  instituted  for  the  reconstruction  of  society 
upon  the  basis  of  divine  Brotherhood.  The  open 
saloon  is  the  greatest  obstruction  to  the  incoming  of 
this  high  social  ideal.  It  casts  its  shadows  athwart 
the  pathway  of  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  truth, 
justice,  and  mercy.  All  the  interests  of  the  liquor 
traffic  are  in  direct  antagonism  to  it.  Consequently 
the  Church  is  committed  to  unalterable  opposition  to 
the  saloon.  This  work  is  not  something  foreign  to 
her  responsibility.  In  fact,  there  is  nothing  more 
fundamental  to  the  kingdom  than  the  suppression 
of  all  forms  of  social  evil. 

The  Church  is  a  divine  organism  whose  scope  of 
activity  embraces  the  whole  human  race.  In  its  uni- 
versal aspect  it  is  divided  into  groups  with  varying 
forms  of  organized  fellowship  and  multiform  activ- 
ities. Each  separate  denomination  is  a  part  of  the 
kingdom,  and  one  of  the  instruments  and  means  of 
its  realization.  The  success  of  each  particular  de- 
nomination is  measured  by  the  law  of  service,  and 
the  mutual  sacrifice  of  time  and  energy  its  members 
lay  upon  its  altars  for  the  larger  life  of  the  kingdom. 
The  essential  law  of  love  should  lead  each  individ- 
ual church  to  exalt  the  cross  above  any  particular 
denomination,  and  to  sink  all  narrow  selfish  aims 
in  its  passionate  love  for  the  greater  interest  of  the 


78  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

kingdom  whose  triumph  is  the  first  and  highest  con- 
sideration. The  enlargement  of  the  view  of  the  king- 
dom, with  its  varied  and  comprehensive  relations, 
gives  meaning  and  inspiration  to  the  efforts  of  those 
working  for  some  specific  reform.  Every  single  re- 
form movement  gains  vitality  and  importance  when 
thus  associated  with  the  larger  moral  movement 
looking  toward  the  realization  of  the  kingdom.  It 
follows,  then,  that  the  best  way  to  promote  the  divine 
social  ideals  among  men  is  through  the  associated 
and  concentrated  efforts  of  the  various  churches 
working  for  some  specific  social  reforms. 

One  means  of  securing  federated  action  among 
the  churches  is  that  the  an ti -saloon  movement  should 
be  on  broad  interdenominational  lines.  All  the  vari- 
ous denominations,  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants, 
should  get  together  for  the  specific  aim  of  repressing 
and  ultimately  suppressing  the  traffic  in  liquor  as  a 
beverage.  The  work  of  moral  and  social  reform  is 
so  imperative  that  it  perforce  transcends  all  theo- 
logical lines.  The  Christian  life  is  something  apart 
from  a  correct  intellectual  and  doctrinal  conception 
of  it.  A  common  cause  and  a  common  experience 
are  enough  to  awaken  all  to  a  united  action  for  fur- 
thering human  destiny.  Incidentally,  this  federated 
effort  will  enable  the  churches  to  approach  greater 
unity  from  the  work  side,  rather  than  from  the  doc- 
trinal side.  The  working  basis  of  the  Church  in  ac- 
tion is,  "If  thy  heart  be  as  my  heart,  give  me  thy 
hand."  Despite  the  hindrances,  churches  are  com- 
ing closer  together.  Whether  they  be  desirable  or 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  79 

not,  the  peculiar  characteristics  are  disappearing. 
The  churches  tend  to  flow  more  and  more  into  a  com- 
mon current.  The  misdirected  energy  and  the  eco- 
nomic and  moral  waste  of  division  among  the 
churches  are  now  recognized  as  short-sighted  pol- 
icy, and  are  gradually  giving  place  to  better  methods. 
There  exist  among  the  churches  to-day  a  community 
of  thought  and  a  desire  for  closer  active  fellowship. 
Church  unity  in  spirit,  if  not  in  form,  is  an  accom- 
plished fact.  Christianity  is  seen  more  and  more  in 
a  unified  life.  The  unity  is  not  that  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical organism,  but  one  of  the  spirit  of  brotherhood, 
which  bears  no  label  and  acknowledges  no  bounda- 
ries. The  closer  Christians  are  drawn  to  the  cross, 
the  closer  are  they  linked  together,  and  the  more  do 
they  manifest  to  the  world  their  oneness  in  Christ. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  "the  household  of 
faith"  should  not  manifest  essential  unity  and  enter 
"  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with  every  soldier 
of  Jesus  Christ"  in  order  to  overthrow  the  greatest 
foe  of  the  home,  the  church,  and  the  state. 

Another  basis  of  union  demands  interpartisan  ac- 
tion on  the  one  issue  that  "the  saloon  must  go.'* 
This  effort  should  be  intensely  political,  but  not  in 
any  sense  united  to  a  single  party.  The  saloon  prob- 
lem involves  political  action.  However,  it  is  a  moral 
question  that  is  not  confined  to  any  church  or  party. 
The  safe  cardinal  principle  to  guide  the  Church  in 
its  federated  action  should  be  to  avoid  affiliation 
with  any  political  party  as  such,  and  to  maintain  an 
attitude  of  neutrality  on  all  public  questions  not 


80  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

hearing  directly  on  saloon  suppression.  A  broad 
federated  church  movement  is  far  more  permanent 
and  effective  than  political-partisan  effort.  The 
choice  of  one  method  precludes  the  other.  The 
problem  should  be  eliminated  from  partisan-polit- 
ical entanglements  and  denominational  bias,  and  be 
brought  within  the  scope  of  the  thought,  plan,  and 
purpose  of  the  Church.  Such  interpartisan  action 
is  not  impracticable.  We  are  not  setting  forth  a  fan- 
ciful idea  nor  an  untried  theory.  In  our  legislative 
halls  throughout  the  country  it  is  being  demon- 
strated that  men  of  all  creeds  and  political  faiths 
will  line  up  on  the  moral  issue  and  enact  laws  fa- 
vorable to  saloon  suppression.  Furthermore,  it  has 
been  shown  that  a  voting  Church,  when  united,  is 
an  invincible  power  for  civic  righteousness.  There 
is  a  widely  prevalent  conviction  that  the  Christian 
churches  and  the  anti-saloon  forces  generally  should 
be  federated,  with  the  distinctive  purpose  of  abol- 
ishing the  saloon.  The  saloon  problem  has  grown 
to  be  such  a  serious  one  that  no  one  denomination 
or  temperance  organization  can  hope  to  settle  it.  It 
is  too  big  for  any  section,  North,  South,  East,  or 
West.  It  is  too  complex  for  any  one  church  to  solve. 
Neither  the  Baptist,  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Con- 
gregational, nor  Catholic  churches,  however  active 
their  own  denominational  temperance  organizations 
may  be,  are  able  singly  and  alone  to  grapple  effect- 
ively with  the  problem.  All  are  inextricably  in- 
volved. The  responsibility  does  not  belong  espe- 
cially to  any  particular  church  or  organization  or 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  81 

body  of  men.  The  problem  appeals  alike  to  all  the 
churches  and  to  every  lover  of  sobriety.  These 
churches  are  so  many  arms  of  power  that  should  be 
concentrated  into  one,  and  that  one  wielded  for  ad- 
vancing civic  righteousness.  There  is  no  solution 
for  the  saloon  problem  except  in  harmony  of  senti- 
ment, unity  of  purpose,  and  the  joint  action  of  all 
the  churches  and  Christian  forces  concentrated  at  a 
given  point  to  secure  definite  results.  The  situation 
demands  interdenominational  action.  Without  it 
the  saloon  will  dominate  both  political  and  social 
life. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  churches  are  betrayed 
into  the  belief  that  they  can  escape  responsibility 
for  this  great  social  evil  by  relegating  the  anti-saloon 
movement  to  their  own  denominational  temperance 
organization,  or  to  some  outside  agency.  The  tem- 
perance societies  within  denominational  lines  may 
do  excellent  work  in  developing  local  public  senti- 
ment and  activity  against  the  saloon,  but  their  range 
of  operation  is  necessarily  limited.  They  cannot  in 
any  sense  discharge  the  work  of  a  larger  character 
committed  to  the  churches  in  their  united  capacity. 
It  requires  State-wide  efforts  to  secure  good  local- 
option  laws  whereby  each  community  has  a  fighting 
chance  against  the  saloon.  The  difficulty  with 
many  workers  in  reform  movements  is  that  they  are 
narrow  in  their  scope  of  thought  and  range  of  vision. 
When  anti-saloon  effort  does  not  extend  beyond  a 
particular  parish  or  denomination  it  becomes  a  men- 
ace to  the  larger  movement  for  securing  results.  The 


82  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

abolition  of  the  saloon  is  either  the  work  of  the 
Church  or  it  is  not.  Inasmuch  as  the  Church  is 
responsible  for  the  results  and  these  results  cannot 
be  secured  except  through  interdenominational  ac- 
tion, then  it  is  high  time  that  each  church  should 
define  itself,  and  assume  the  burden  of  pushing  the 
work  by  effective  cooperation  with  other  churches. 
This  is  legitimate  church  work.  It  is  reasonable  that 
the  conscience  of  the  Church  regarding  the  saloon 
should  express  itself  in  terms  of  Christian  energy. 
The  sense  of  responsibility  and  sovereignty  in  this 
matter  cannot  be  delegated  to  some  one  else.  The 
only  consistent  reason  for  any  church  not  cooper- 
ating is  that  it  is  doing  a  much  better  work  for  sa- 
loon suppression  than  the  entire  federated  body. 
Presumption  of  this  type  is  incapable  of  measuring 
its  own  responsibility.  It  is  futile  for  good  men  to 
talk  earnestly  against  the  saloon  unless  they  are  will- 
ing to  engage  in  an  effective  fight  for  civic  righteous- 
ness. A  mere  paper  opposition  to  the  saloon  is  harm- 
less. The  only  consistent  course  is  for  each  church 
to  make  good  by  active  cooperation  the  resolutions 
so  earnestly  and  pathetically  endorsed  in  their  vari- 
ous synods,  conferences,  and  conventions. 

The  exigencies  of  the  situation  force  the  churches 
to  federate  in  order  to  carry  their  opposition  to  the 
saloon  to  the  point  of  effectiveness.  The  strength 
of  each  church  is  bound  up  in  the  united  action  of 
them  all.  The  saloon  exists  to-day  largely  because  of 
the  lack  of  a  determined,  federated  action  of  the 
churches.  No  individual  church  or  denomination  can 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  83 

maintain  independent  action  without  surrendering 
its  associate  power  for  accomplishing  definite  results 
against  the  saloon.  The  churches  that  enter  into 
such  a  federation  in  no  wise  surrender  their  identity 
and  individuality  in  the  warfare.  The  status  of  each 
church  remains  the  same.  On  the  other  hand,  each 
church  finds  its  own  life  enriched  and  broadened  by 
the  larger  life  of  the  affiliated  churches  of  which  it 
becomes  a  no  insignificant  part. 

One  of  the  principal  reasons  why  the  churches 
have  been  unable  to  carry  on  a  more  successful  war- 
fare against  social  evils  in  many  towns  and  cities 
grows  out  of  the  fact  that  there  has  been  little,  if 
any,  common  basis  for  permanent  federation  of 
churches  with  a  directing  head  to  accomplish  prac- 
tical results.  Organized  charity  in  many  of  our  cities 
is  demonstrating  what  can  be  done  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  worthy  poor.  A  similar  federation 
of  the  churches  to  work  against  the  powerful  and 
rapacious  liquor  traffic  is  certain  to  produce  satis- 
factory results.  For  example:  Boston  has  nearly  nine 
hundred  saloons,  which  stand  together  as  a  unit 
financially  and  politically.  They  do  everything  they 
can  by  concerted  action  to  promote  their  business. 
The  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  churches  in  the 
city  are  all  more  or  less  interested  in  the  suppression 
of  the  saloon;  yet  because  they  are  not  sufficiently 
federated  to  work  together  unitedly,  their  moral  in- 
fluence against  the  saloon  apparently  does  not  count 
for  much.  What  is  true  of  Boston  is  equally  true  of 
the  majority  of  our  cities.  Furthermore,  many  States 


84  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

are  covered  with  the  federated  forces  of  the  saloon, 
while  the  various  church  bodies  manifest  no  coher- 
ent activity  to  counteract  their  baleful  influence. 

It  is  a  hopeful  sign  that  the  churches  are  coming 
to  recognize  the  possibility  of  their  power  for  con- 
certed and  cooperative  action  against  the  saloon. 
"Federation  for  social  service"  is  the  modern  watch- 
word. Churches  that  heretofore  have  differentiated 
now  discover  and  emphasize  elements  of  unity.  Father 
T.  J.  Coffey,  of  the  Catholic  church  in  St.  Louis, 
in  an  anti-saloon  rally  of  recent  date,  expressed  a 
growing  sentiment  when  he  said,  "Let  us  not  find 
fault  with  one  another,  but  let  us  give  comfort  and 
aid  in  the  cause  whenever  possible.  Let  us  come 
nearer  to  one  another;  for  this  union  alone  will  give 
us  the  strength  needed  in  the  great  battle  for  souls, 
and  Christ,  and  our  country."  Anti-saloon  activity 
has  numerous  inspiring  instances  where  members 
of  various  denominations  have  come  together  to 
work  and  pray  for  civic  righteousness  in  their  own 
towns  and  cities  and  have  accomplished  excellent 
results.  The  combined  effort  promotes  unity  among 
the  several  churches  of  the  community  and  of  the 
nation.  Through  a  common  purpose  and  common 
activity,  a  common  chord  is  struck  and  a  healthy 
Christian  fellowship  is  developed  that  presages  the 
triumph  of  the  kingdom.  The  confederation  and  co- 
operation of  the  several  churches  testifies  to  the  com- 
munity their  oneness  in  Christ.  It  arouses  new  ac- 
tivity and  attracts  men  into  Christian  service.  It 
not  only  helps  to  develop  and  increase  personal  effi- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  85 

ciency,  but  likewise  gives  the  Church  power  for  so- 
cial elevation.  With  this  new  alignment  of  Chris- 
tian forces,  the  churches  should  stand  in  closer  range 
to  the  battle-line.  The  contest,  to  be  triumphant, 
requires  united  and  concentrated  effort.  Wilful  sep- 
aration, and  the  withholding  of  influence  to  main- 
tain a  sustained  movement  against  the  organized 
saloon,  means  refusal  to  carry  out  the  redemptive 
purpose  of  Christ  and  leaves  the  Church  without  the 
essential  power  to  overcome  social  evils.  The  fed- 
erated churches,  leagued  together  to  accomplish  re- 
sults, are  the  accredited  agents  to  strike  the  death- 
blow to  the  liquor  traffic, 


86  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

CHAPTER  VI 
A  MEDIUM  FOR  UNITED  ACTION 

The  Church  must  fight  this  thing,  and  you  must  have  an  organ- 
ization to  do  it.  These  fellows  want  to  be  let  alone,  and  as  long  as 
you  confine  yourselves  to  what  you  do  inside  the  church  they  are 
content.  Go  out  into  the  highways  and  the  byways;  carry  your 
fight  into  the  enemy's  camp.  And  don't  waste  your  time  trying  to 
reform  old  crooks.  Look  after  the  little  boys  and  girls  on  the 
streets  who  are  going  to  destruction. —  JUDGE  GRANT. 

When  the  liquor  men  are  allowed  to  do  as  they  wish,  they  are 
sure  to  debauch  not  only  the  body  social,  but  the  body  politic 
also. —  ROOSEVELT. 

For  among  my  people  are  found  wicked  men;  they  set  a  trap, 
they  catch  men. 

Shall  not  my  soul  be  avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this  ?  A  won- 
derful and  horrible  thing  is  committed  in  the  land. 

The  prophets  prophesy  falsely,  and  the  priests  bear  rule  by 
their  means ;  and  my  people  love  to  have  it  so ;  and  what  will  ye  do 
in  the  end  thereof?  —  JEREMIAH  v.  26,  29,  30,  31. 

IT  is  apparent  that  the  federation  of  the  moral 
forces  for  saloon  suppression  implies  that  there 
must  be  some  organized  medium  through  which 
to  express  the  convictions  and  activities  of  the  united 
bodies.  The  value  of  associated  effort  in  the  field  of 
reform  is  that  it  secures  the  largest  measure  of  moral 
energy  for  specific  results.  This  is  an  age  of  effect- 
ive organization.  Men  cooperate  on  a  large  scale 
for  economic,  political,  and  social  aims.  The  power 
and  efficiency  of  a  strong  organization  in  all  reform 
movements  can  no  longer  be  intelligently  questioned. 
Some  one  has  appropriately  said,  "An  organized 
body  is  an  army,  but  a  disorganized  one  is  a  mob." 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  87 

Nothing  is  more  irresistible  than  an  organized  body 
of  determined  men  working  on  moral  lines.  One 
man  single-handed  may  accomplish  comparatively 
little;  but  when  united  with  men  of  like  mind  and 
purpose,  the  individual  effort  is  multiplied  many- 
fold.  Men  who  have  been  conspicuously  efficient  in 
working  for  social  betterment  have  attached  them- 
selves to  kindred  spirits,  and  by  so  doing  have  wi- 
dened and  extended  their  influence  for  the  cause  they 
serve.  Christ  had  fellowship  with  his  disciples ;  Paul 
had  his  faithful  companions  in  work;  Luther  was 
united  in  service  to  Melanchthon  and  others;  Wes- 
ley's influence  was  widely  extended  through  his  com- 
radeship with  Fletcher,  Whitfield,  and  his  brother 
Charles.  The  impression  is  widening  and  deepen- 
ing that  there  should  be  an  organic  effort  of  the 
churches  to  solve  the  saloon  problem.  The  only  hope 
of  doing  this  important  work  is  to  concentrate  and 
coordinate  the  efforts  of  the  Christian  forces  and 
have  them  wield  a  power  for  definite  results.  This 
unity  of  action  becomes  a  new  moral  force  in  its  ap- 
plication to  the  problem  of  saloon  suppression. 

In  all  ages  the  Church  has  had  to  contend  against 
some  form  of  social  evil.  The  Church  began  its  his- 
tory amidst  the  clash  and  conflict  of  human  society, 
and  ever  since  it  has  continued  to  be  the  aggressor 
against  deeply  intrenched  social  wrongs  and  mani- 
fold cruelties  toward  the  weak  and  unfortunate.  The 
true  conception  of  the  Church  is  not  that  of  a  citadel 
to  defend  the  faith,  nor  a  hospital  to  nurse  a  few  sin- 
sick  souls  into  heaven,  but  rather  that  of  a  vast  army 


88  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

with  divisions  marching  forward  under  different  de- 
nominational banners  to  fight  sin  not  merely  in  the 
abstract  but  in  a  concrete  form.  The  genius  and 
spirit  of  the  modern  Church  should  be  to  carry  ef- 
fectual warfare  into  the  camp  of  organized  iniquity. 
Heretofore  one  of  the  features  of  weakness  of  the 
Church  to  work  effectively  for  saloon  suppression  is 
that  the  warfare  against  it  has  been  carried  on  in  a 
desultory  manner.  The  anti-saloon  armies  have  been 
divided,  and  they  have  lacked  organization  with  a 
directing  head  to  carry  forward  a  persistent  and  ag- 
gressive campaign  against  the  organized  saloon. 
Harmonious  action  of  some  kind  is  essential  to  do 
effective  work.  The  gospel  of  efficiency  must  go 
hand  in  hand  with  the  gospel  of  good  news.  The 
activity  of  the  Church  for  saloon  suppression  will 
be  ineffective  unless  it  is  reduced  to  a  system.  The 
militancy  of  the  Church  demands  the  most  effective 
method  for  distributing  the  Christian  forces,  as  well 
as  to  have  some  definite  plan  of  campaign  and 
battle. 

It  is  evident  to  those  who  study  the  problem  that 
there  should  be  some  visible  bond  of  union  of  the 
several  federated  bodies  and  moral  forces  committed 
to  the  opposition  of  the  saloon.  By  common  con- 
sent each  denomination  should  be  brought  into  re- 
lation through  some  joint  agency  or  organized  me- 
dium of  a  state  and  nation  wide  character,  so  as  to 
cooperate  systematically  and  effectively  for  the  spe- 
cific purpose  of  repressing  and  ultimately  suppress- 
ing the  beverage-liquor  traffic.  The  policy  and  man- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  89 

agement  of  this  joint  agency  may  be  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  voluntary  and  self -perpetuating  board,  or 
controlled  by  representatives  of  the  several  denom- 
inational bodies  and  temperance  societies  within  the 
State.  The  latter  method  is  more  democratic.  The 
aim  of  this  joint  agency  should  be  not  to  work  for, 
but  with,  the  churches.  In  fact,  it  should  be  a  move- 
ment of  the  churches  and  controlled  by  them.  It 
should  have  no  existence  apart  from  the  churches. 
Its  function  should  be  not  so  much  authoritative  as 
executive  and  advisory.  Among  other  things,  it 
should  be  a  clearing-house  for  trustworthy  anti- 
saloon  information  and  activity.  The  results  de- 
rived from  the  careful  study  of  the  saloon  problem 
should  be  described,  correlated,  and  tabulated,  and 
made  the  ground  for  true,  sound  induction  as  to  the 
conditions,  cause,  and  remedy  of  the  saloon  evil. 
This  league  of  churches  should  undertake  to  secure 
some  uniformity  regarding  methods  of  work.  Evi- 
dently a  systematized  plan  of  cooperative  effort  to 
direct  and  utilize  the  anti-saloon  sentiment  and  ac- 
tivity in  each  State  is  imperative.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  saloon  must  be  reckoned  as  a  strong  polit- 
ical factor.  It  is  hardly  fitting  for  any  one  church 
to  enter  the  political  arena,  but  it  ought  to  help  se- 
lect, support,  and  control  a  joint  agency  to  represent 
it  in  political  action  against  the  saloon,  and  to  de- 
velop this  agency  to  the  highest  standard  of  efficiency. 
By  means  of  this  medium  of  denominational  effort 
to  abolish  the  saloon  there  need  be  no  firing  at  ran- 
dom, nor  a  duplication  of  effort.  The  federated  ac- 


90  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

tion  of  the  churches  can  be  concentrated  and  directed 
at  a  given  point  along  the  line  of  battle  to  accom- 
plish a  definite  object.  This  method  would  tend  to 
conserve  with  the  least  expenditure  of  force  every- 
thing essential  to  secure  results. 

The  distinctive  aim  of  a  concerted  action  of  the 
churches  should  be  to  create  and  strengthen  a  great 
anti-saloon  movement,  rather  than  to  build  up  a  sep- 
arate organization.  Federated  action  along  this  line 
should  not  induce  any  church  to  abandon  its  efforts 
to  develop  local  an ti -saloon  sentiment  and  activity. 
The  important  point  is  for  each  church  to  realize 
that  it  is  vitally  related  to  a  state  and  nation  wide 
cooperative  movement  as  the  only  effective  means  of 
saloon  suppression,  and  that  the  success  of  the  move- 
ment will  depend  upon  the  degree  of  active  sympa- 
thy and  the  support  given  by  each  church.  Each 
independent  church  has  a  twofold  power.  Its  indi- 
vidual power  is  exercised  in  the  immediate  sphere  of 
its  activity;  while  the  associate  power  comes  through 
its  activity  with  several  individual  churches  that 
have  banded  themselves  together  for  concerted  ac- 
tion along  moral  lines.  The  separate  power  of  each 
church  is  multiplied  many-fold  by  the  organic  power 
of  all  the  churches.  This  joint  effort  becomes  a  new 
and  essential  factor  in  the  solution  of  the  saloon 
problem. 

The  friends  of  sobriety  and  decency  should  bear 
in  mind  that  they  are  not  opposing  a  few  saloons 
here  or  there  in  a  community,  but  that  they  are  con- 
fronted with  a  great  saloon  system  deeply  intrenched 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  91 

in  society,  the  conquest  of  which  will  require  heroic 
valor.  The  saloon  forces  are  organized,  and  they  re- 
sort to  questionable  methods  to  promote  their  traffic 
and  to  gain  their  ends.  The  organizations  of  whole- 
sale liquor-dealers,  the  distillers,  and  the  brewers 
have  reached  huge  proportions,  and  they  are  ex- 
tended into  every  State  of  the  Union.  Besides,  there 
are  three  chief  national  organizations  of  retail  liquor- 
dealers;  namely,  The  National  Retail  Liquor  Deal- 
ers' Association,  The  Knights  of  Fidelity,  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Royal  Arch.  These  three  organiza- 
tions have  lately  formed  a  defensive  and  offensive 
amalgamation  of  interests  under  the  name  of  "The 
National  Liquor  League  of  the  United  States."  The 
organized  liquor-dealers  in  their  combined  ranks 
number  about  150,000.  This  strong  and  aggressive 
organization  declares  its  purpose  to  extend  its  influ- 
ence throughout  the  nation,  and  to  have  its  paid 
agents  go  up  and  down  the  several  States  to  form 
local  organizations,  with  the  view  of  watching  the 
nomination  of  every  candidate  for  office,  and  the 
appointment  of  every  internal  revenue  collector,  and 
of  every  judge  upon  the  bench.  It  is  to  have  its 
"picked  men"  in  Washington  and  in  every  State 
capital  as  lobbyists  to  guard  the  "interests"  of  the 
trade. 

Negatively  considered,  the  fact  that  the  saloon 
is  extending  its  organization  reveals  the  inherent 
weakness  of  the  trade.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  wide- 
spread feeling  of  alarm.  The  saloon-keepers  and 
the  liquor-dealers  cry,  "  Organize  for  defence."  Men 


92  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

carrying  on  any  legitimate  business  do  not  organ- 
ize to  protect  themselves  against  law-abiding  citizens. 
Only  those  who  are  conscious  of  wrong-doing  are 
led  to  fortify  themselves  and  to  be  on  the  defensive. 
Furthermore,  the  organization  of  those  engaged  in 
the  liquor  trade  calls  the  attention  of  good  people  to 
their  nefarious  traffic,  and  this  fact  arouses  them  to 
work  for  its  annihilation.  There  is,  however,  a  pos- 
itive side  to  this  organized  system  of  iniquity,  and 
this  must  not  be  overlooked.  The  anti-saloon  forces 
are  confronted  with  the  united  and  inveterate  oppo- 
sition of  254,000  saloons.  The  saloon-keepers,  to- 
gether with  those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  intoxicants,  have  a  numerical  strength  of  more 
than  600,000.  Besides  this  great  army,  a  host  of 
patrons  join  the  saloon-keepers  to  perpetuate  the 
liquor  traffic. 

Notwithstanding  this  array  of  strength,  the  anti- 
saloon  forces  greatly  outnumber  those  of  the  opposi- 
tion. In  1904  there  were  in  the  United  States  199,- 
658  churches,  151,113  ministers,  and  30,313,311 
communicants.  The  various  young  people's  socie- 
ties associated  with  the  churches  have  a  following 
of  more  than  five  millions.  Besides,  there  are  tens 
of  thousands  of  young  men  connected  with  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  Good  Templars,  and  other  religious  and  phil- 
anthropic organizations.  Add  to  these  forces  a  very 
large  constituency  of  lovers  of  sobriety  and  good 
order,  and  it  is  evident  that  if  these  hosts  become 
once  aroused  and  work  unitedly  for  results,  the  un- 
American  saloon  will  be  like  a  pygmy  in  the  hands 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  93 

of  a  giant.  Historic  events  show  that  if  men  are  al- 
lowed liberty  of  thought  and  freedom  of  action  the 
cause  of  right  will  muster  more  regiments  than  the 
cause  of  wrong.  It  is  well  to  remember,  however, 
that  an  organized  minority  will  control  a  disorgan- 
ized majority,  and  consequently  no  effective  work 
can  be  done  against  the  saloon  without  organiza- 
tion. The  greatest  struggle  in  this  warfare  is  to  en- 
list the  pastors  and  to  federate  the  churches.  It  al- 
ways requires  more  time  to  marshal  the  forces  and 
to  mobilize  an  army  than  it  does  to  fight  the  battle. 

The  Church  is  not  fully  awakened  to  the  power 
of  the  saloon.  It  has  scarcely  felt  the  slightest  twitch 
of  this  monster  foe.  When  the  saloon  forces  are 
thoroughly  united  the  fight  will  be  prolonged  and 
severe.  The  Church  must  come  to  realize  that  it  is 
face  to  face  with  one  of  the  most  gigantic  struggles 
of  the  centuries.  Heretofore  the  Church  has  been 
conducting  only  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy.  The 
great  battle  is  coming,  the  enemy  must  be  besieged, 
and  wisdom  demands  that  the  anti-saloon  forces  be 
ready  for  the  fray.  If  the  Church  does  not  fight 
now,  matters  will  grow  worse  and  worse,  and  then 
the  Church  must  fight  at  a  disadvantage,  when  the 
saloon  will  be  more  difficult  to  conquer.  There  ex- 
ists, then,  a  practical  necessity  to  combine  and  to 
consolidate  the  forces  of  righteousness,  and  to  move 
in  concert  to  meet  the  solidarity  of  the  saloon  forces. 

In  a  sense  the  Church  holds  the  forces  of  social 
redemption,  and  it  is  responsible  to  shape  and  direct 
them  into  a  systematic  and  continuous  campaign 


94  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

against  all  organized  evil  that  impedes  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom.  It  is  encouraging  to  note  that  the 
churches  are  becoming  more  and  more  united  for 
aggressive  and  constructive  work.  The  machinery 
of  the  Church  is  constructed,  geared,  and  engineered 
to  run  and  do  effective  work  in  pushing  forward 
the  kingdom  by  overthrowing  the  iniquity  of  the 
saloon  system.  The  avowed  aims  and  purposes  of 
the  churches  are  akin,  but  there  is  a  great  need  of  a 
scientific  and  practical  effort  to  act  corporately  with 
men  and  resources  to  meet  the  social  conditions  that 
confront  them.  If  the  church  machinery  and  forces 
are  sufficiently  applied  and  devoted  to  the  purpose 
for  which  they  were  called  into  existence,  organized 
social  evils  will  soon  be  banished  from  our  streets. 
This  glad  day  will  not  be  ushered  in  until  good  peo- 
ple unite  and  help  to  cover  this  nation  with  a  network 
of  organizations  so  powerful  as  to  vanquish  every  foe 
of  good  order,  and  to  work  along  constructive  lines 
for  social  betterment. 

A  practical  and  scientific  method  of  dealing  with 
the  saloon  problem  will  secure  mutual  helpfulness, 
as  well  as  greater  economy  and  efficiency  of  the  agen- 
cies employed.  The  factors  entering  into  the  social 
organizations  are  many.  On  the  divine  side,  we 
have  the  social  ideals,  the  principles  underlying  them, 
and  a  living  Spirit  to  help  actualize  them.  On  the 
human  side,  social  advancement  is  obtained  by  adopt- 
ing certain  rational  and  feasible  methods  as  the 
means  to  realize  the  ideal  and  to  make  dominant  the 
forces  actually  supreme. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  95 

An  organization  that  commands  a  high  place  in 
social  progress  does  not  have  one  uniform  system  of 
thought  or  one  required  standard  of  action,  but  it 
gives  the  widest  scope  for  individual  initiative,  en- 
ergy, and  enthusiasm.  On  the  other  hand,  the  most 
effective  organization  depends  upon  the  harmonious 
working  of  its  several  parts.  Some  emphasize  a 
strong  central  government,  while  others  lay  stress 
upon  local  self-government.  The  spirit  of  the  old 
Federalist  and  the  anti-Federalist  crops  out  in  the 
modern  organized  efforts  for  social  welfare.  The 
important  principles  of  centralization  and  differen- 
tiation should  be  made  to  blend  and  to  work  harmo- 
niously in  all  associated  efforts.  The  organization 
that  wields  the  greatest  power  for  good  has  some- 
where a  strong  central  authority  of  an  executive  and 
advisory  character,  and  at  the  same  time  encourages 
local  autonomy  and  individual  freedom  of  action. 
Jesus  recognized  the  importance  of  associated  effort. 
He  became  the  central  authority  for  organizing  five 
thousand  hungry  people  into  groups  of  fifty.  Through 
his  divine  touch  and  guidance  willing  disciples  per- 
formed their  several  duties  so  loyally  that  the  multi- 
tude was  readily  satisfied.  In  our  day,  faithful  and 
willing  followers  of  the  same  Jesus  stand  ready  to 
cooperate  in  a  general  effort  to  help  set  right  public 
wrongs,  and  to  work  earnestly  for  social  redemption. 
The  people  simply  ask  for  leaders  of  independent 
judgment,  constructive  ability,  and  possessing  the 
Master's  spirit  to  unite  them  on  some  common  plat- 
form and  to  guide  them  in  the  performance  of  civic 


96  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

duties.  The  highest  efficiency  of  those  who  wish  to 
work  for  social  betterment  is  found  when  a  sufficient 
number  of  individuals  serve  faithfully,  according  to 
ability,  some  directing  head.  Obviously,  the  variety  of 
talent  in  any  organized  agency  demands  that  each 
should  work  where  each  can  do  the  most  efficient 
service.  The  organization,  however,  must  not  swal- 
low up  the  individual.  Men  cannot  discharge  their 
obligation  to  God  and  their  neighbor  by  employing 
some  one  else  to  perform  it  for  them.  Individual 
effort  for  social  betterment  cannot  be  supplanted  or 
farmed  out.  All  should  be  made  to  feel  their  per- 
sonal responsibility  to  work  individually  and  jointly 
for  a  common  social  end. 

Among  the  distinctive  purposes  of  an  interdenom- 
inational and  interpartizan  organization  is  that  which 
secures  national,  state,  county,  and  municipal  legis- 
lation to  suppress  the  saloon  and  to  support  official 
authority  in  enforcing  the  same.  One  of  the  prerog- 
atives of  organized  Christianity  is  to  defeat  the  ene- 
mies of  good  government,  and  to  make  it  politically 
safe  for  a  man  occupying  a  public  position  to  per- 
form his  duties  fearlessly.  Society  will  never  remove 
the  soot  and  smut  from  the  white  ermine  of  civic 
affairs  until  worthy  men  stand  in  the  high  places  of 
official  responsibility.  Public  officials  who  without 
fear  or  favor  do  the  right,  and  vote  for  right  meas- 
ures, should  be  rewarded  for  faithful  service  by 
continuing  them  in  office  irrespective  of  party  lines. 
The  converse  of  this  principle  is  likewise  true.  It 
should  be  made  politically  unsafe  for  any  public 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  97 

official  to  be  false  to  his  trust.  When  this  principle 
is  in  practical  operation  through  the  action  of  the  in- 
dependent voters,  there  will  be  comparatively  little 
difficulty  in  suppressing  the  saloon.  A  social  reform 
of  such  vast  import  can  be  accomplished  only  through 
a  compact  system  of  organized  Christianity,  backed 
with  money,  energy,  and  determination. 

To  this  end  an  anti-saloon  organization  or  joint 
agency  should  be  co-extensive  in  area  with  the  leg- 
islative and  executive  authority  in  so  far  as  they  have 
to  deal  with  the  traffic  in  liquor  as  a  beverage.  Stat- 
utory laws  bearing  on  the  saloon  question  are  best 
secured  through  an  organization  of  county,  borough, 
or  senatorial  district.  Each  representative  to  the 
Legislature  should  be  made  to  feel  his  responsibility 
to  an  enlightened  Christian  constituency.  Further- 
more, the  power  to  enforce  the  laws  enacted  by  the 
Legislature  is  usually  lodged  with  the  prosecuting 
attorney  and  sheriff  of  each  county.  The  natural 
territorial  sphere  of  operation  of  an  organization 
would  be  within  county  limits.  Consequently  the 
best  condition  for  giving  effective  support  to  the  ex- 
ecutive officers  for  saloon  suppression  is  for  the  moral 
forces  in  each  county  to  maintain  an  anti-saloon 
league.  These  county  leagues  might  be  supple- 
mented advantageously  by  local  committees  in  the 
smaller  towns  and  wards  of  cities  within  its  borders. 
Each  league  should  be  part  of  a  system  and  aux- 
iliary to  the  State  league,  and  it  in  turn  auxiliary 
to  the  national  organization.  The  several  commit- 
tees and  organizations  will  furnish  a  proper  medium 


98  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

through  which  the  various  churches  and  temperance 
bodies  may  express  in  a  most  practical  manner  their 
convictions  against  the  saloon. 

The  suppression  of  the  saloon  involves  not  only  a 
local,  but  a  State-wide  fight,  which  requires  a  State- 
wide organization  embracing  every  county,  munic- 
ipality, and  senatorial  district  within  its  territory. 
The  State  Legislature  bears  the  responsibility  of  en- 
acting the  laws  against  the  saloon,  and  to  provide 
for  the  enforcement  of  the  same.  Obviously,  some 
instrumentality  of  a  national  character  is  likewise 
called  for  to  take  the  initiative  and  bring  together 
the  scattered  rays  of  influence  against  the  saloon 
throughout  the  nation  and  focus  them  upon  Con- 
gress until  laws  of  nation-wide  import  and  favorable 
to  saloon  suppression  are  enacted.  Each  subdivision 
of  territory  should  be  so  organized  and  interrelated 
as  to  secure  reciprocal  action.  The  lowest  political 
unit  should  find  expression  through  an  ascending 
scale  until  it  touches  the  national  organization;  this 
in  turn  should  give  coherence,  guidance,  and  inspi- 
ration to  each  of  the  ramified  branches  of  the  State 
Anti-Saloon  League.  Such  an  organization  is  not 
impracticable.  The  American  Anti-Saloon  League 
aims  to  carry  out  this  specific  purpose,  and  it  is  daily 
augmenting  its  power  and  influence  throughout  the 
nation. 

In  order  to  insure  flexibility  and  efficiency  in  this 
moral  conflict,  a  truly  democratic  spirit  should  per- 
meate the  whole  organized  movement.  The  several 
churches  of  each  community  should  federate  for  spe- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  99 

cific  agitation  and  active  cooperation  against  social 
ills  and  to  promote  public  morals.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary that  each  church  should  have  an  organic  union 
with  any  local  organization,  but  groups  of  interested 
and  resolute  men,  or  the  temperance  committees 
selected  to  represent  their  respective  churches,  should 
act  in  union  with  similar  committees  from  all  the 
local  churches,  with  the  view  of  carrying  forward  the 
desired  reform.  Such  a  body  of  men  representing 
the  different  local  churches  would  furnish  a  medium 
for  work  in  harmony  with  the  county  and  state  anti- 
saloon  leagues,  and  it  would  likewise  enable  the  ad- 
vanced public  conscience  in  the  community  to  ex- 
press itself  in  favor  of  good  anti-saloon  measures, 
and  to  encourage  public  officers  to  enforce  the  laws. 
In  some  States  where  local-option  contests  are  car- 
ried on  annually  or  biennially,  the  local  anti-saloon 
leagues  will  take  on  a  more  or  less  permanent  form. 
Generally  speaking,  however,  local  committees  are 
better  than  local  organizations.  A  local  organiza- 
tion awakens  public  expectation  which  its  officers 
are  not  always  able  to  meet.  Whenever  it  becomes 
inoperative  angl  fails  to  secure  results,  the  people  are 
disappointed  and  come  to  regard  it  as  a  defunct  in- 
stitution. A  local  committee  with  a  definite  issue, 
chosen  to  conduct  a  campaign  lasting  for  only  a  brief 
period,  does  its  work  and  the  people  are  satisfied  un- 
til another  important  issue  presents  itself. 

In  organizing  for  local  work,  care  should  be  ex- 
ercised not  to  select  too  large  committees  to  carry  out 
the  general  plans  of  the  campaign.  Other  things  be- 


100  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

ing  equal,  the  more  limited  the  number  on  a  com- 
mittee the  more  easily  they  are  called  together,  and 
the  more  intelligent  will  be  the  cooperation  enlisted. 
Generally  speaking,  a  local  organization  made  up  of 
a  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  and  sub-com- 
mittees consisting  of  three  members  each,  to  work 
along  the  lines  of  agitation,  legislation,  and  law 
enforcement,  is  far  more  effective  than  committees 
of  a  larger  number.  The  Municipal  Voters'  League 
of  Chicago  has  demonstrated  the  power  and  effi- 
ciency of  a  small  directing  force  in  reform  work. 
One  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  success  is  to  se- 
cure good  local  leaders  to  take  charge  of  the  work. 
Failure  at  this  point  means  defeat.  Occasionally 
men  who  have  been  chosen  to  take  the  local  leader- 
ship against  the  saloon  have  been  made  the  butt 
and  jibe  of  the  enemy.  The  safe  course  is  for  all 
the  anti-saloon  forces  to  stand  together  firmly,  and  to 
cooperate  with  the  chosen  leaders,  even  though  the 
personnel  and  the  particular  method  of  the  campaign 
may  be  justly  open  to  criticism. 

The  fight  to  banish  the  saloon  is  a  righteous  one. 
The  army  is  divinely  called,  and  equjpped  with  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.  The  Church  Militant  is  the  true 
champion  of  the  cause.  The  abiding  motive  is  to 
carry  out  the  purpose  of  the  Master.  If  social  wrongs 
are  ever  righted,  it  will  be  because  the  light  of  Chris- 
tians is  diffused.  All  associate  efforts  for  social  re- 
form should  be  inspired  and  vivified  by  the  spirit  of 
the  Master.  Many  are  not  awake  to  the  fact  that  God 
is  real  and  present  in  these  ordinary  forms  of  social 


AND    SOCIAL    HEF.O>R-M 


progress.  He  avails  himself  of  all  these  methods  of 
effecting  influence  and  accomplishing  results.  He 
works  in  the  orderly  administration  of  human  affairs 
and  becomes  the  all-embracing  power  in  social  ad- 
vancement. Men  will  have  a  mistaken  notion  of 
this  organized  reform  movement  unless  they  realize 
that  He  is  imminent  in  it.  Those  possessed  with 
fears,  misgivings,  and  doubts  as  to  the  ability  of  the 
Church  to  conquer  the  giant  foe  should  open  their 
eyes  to  see  the  invisible  hosts,  with  the  chariots  of 
fire  and  the  horsemen  thereof.  Conflicts  of  this  char- 
acter test  the  souls  of  men.  The  victors  will  be 
among  those  who  endure  as  seeing  Him  who  is  in- 
visible, and  who  likewise  receive  divine  help  on  their 
way  towards  the  realization  of  a  larger  social  vision. 


10y  T  K  E    SALOON    PROBLEM 

CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FORMATION  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT 

Let  us  raise  a  standard  to  which  the  wise  and  honest  can  re- 
pair. The  event  is  in  the  hand  of  God. —  WASHINGTON. 

Leadership  is  of  avail  only  so  far  as  there  is  wise  and  resolute 
public  sentiment  behind  it. —  ROOSEVELT. 

I  will  be  as  harsh  as  truth,  and  as  uncompromising  as  justice. 
On  this  subject  I  do  not  wish  to  think  or  speak  or  write  with  moder- 
ation. No!  No!  Tell  a  man  whose  house  is  on  fire  to  give  a  mod- 
erate alarm;  tell  him  to  moderately  rescue  his  wife  from  the  hands 
of  the  ravisher;  tell  the  mother  to  gradually  extricate  her  babe 
from  the  fire  into  which  it  has  fallen ;  but  urge  me  not  to  use  mod- 
eration in  a  cause  like  the  present.  I  am  in  earnest  —  I  will  not 
equivocate  —  I  will  not  excuse  —  I  will  not  retreat  a  single  inch  — 
and  I  will  be  heard. —  WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON. 

THE  organization  of  the  moral  forces  to  carry 
forward  social  reforms  is  preceded,  accom- 
panied, and  upheld  by  public  sentiment. 
"Public  opinion"  is  a  general  term  denoting  the  cur- 
rent feelings  and  habitual  convictions  which  are 
formed  in  the  mind  of  individuals,  but  which  can- 
not be  analyzed  or  defined.  It  originates  in  the  in- 
fluence of  one  mind  on  another.  The  expressions 
"the  social  mind,"  "social  conscience,"  and  "pub- 
lic opinion"  convey  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  a 
common  consciousness  in  society.  These  are  not 
vague  expressions,  but  have  a  concrete  reality.  They 
describe  the  phenomena  which  result  from  the  in- 
teraction of  communicating  individual  minds,  and 
are  inclusive  of  all  that  pertains  to  the  common  ideas, 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  103 

emotions,  and  activities  of  associated  persons.  Pub- 
lic opinion  is  the  collective  aspect  of  personal  opin- 
ion. These  are  not  two  separate  entities  or  forces, 
but  have  an  essential  unity.  As  many  drops  form 
the  rain,  as  many  leaves  make  the  foliage,  so  many 
minds  form  public  opinion.  Each  citizen  may  con- 
tribute his  personal  views  as  to  the  right  or  wrong 
involved  in  any  reform  measure,  and  in  so  far  he 
becomes  a  sharer  in  the  creation  of  public  opinion. 

Social  reforms  are  initiated  and  carried  forward 
by  a  change  in  public  opinion.  Popular  support  and 
assistance  are  their  indispensable  foundation.  Agita- 
tion is  only  incidental,  but  it  becomes  one  of  the  most 
helpful  factors  in  enlisting  the  sympathy  and  sup- 
port necessary  to  secure  reform  measures.  The  social 
mind  is  capable  of  being  formed  aright  by  systematic 
and  persistent  agitation  of  righteous  principles.  A 
common  moral  purpose  proceeds  from  a  common 
moral  insight.  Enlightened  discussion  makes  this 
possible.  Public  opinion  is  not  based  upon  the  ill- 
considered  demands  of  the  many,  but  rather  upon 
the  healthy  opinion  of  the  majority  which  rise  above 
selfish  motives,  interests,  and  aims,  in  order  to  con- 
serve the  good  of  all.  The  motive  force  back  of  public 
opinion  that  makes  for  moral  reform  is  found  in  the 
moral  attributes  of  man.  Therefore  the  majority 
cannot  impose  restrictive  laws  upon  a  reluctant  mi- 
nority, and  make  them  effective,  unless  they  are 
based  upon  righteous  principles  that  are  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  community.  Such  a  course  of  con- 
duct implies  not  only  the  ability  of  self-government, 


104  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

but  also  a  political  and  social  conscience  that  lies 
back  of  all  forms  of  government.  The  State  becomes 
the  instrument  and  organ  to  give  effect  to  the  exist- 
ing public  opinion.  In  other  words,  a  government 
9f  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people  is 
government  by  public  conscience. 

The  inertia,  incredulity,  and  indifference  of  people 
otherwise  good  too  frequently  stand  in  the  way  of 
social  progress  and  make  social  wrongs  possible.  The 
surest  way  of  overcoming  them  is  by  sane  social  agi- 
tation. All  men  have  the  social  instincts.  They  have 
the  ability  to  communicate  their  thoughts,  express 
their  feelings,  and  share  their  purposes.  The  aim 
of  agitation  is  to  win  the  recluse  and  the  indifferent, 
so  that  they  will  be  induced  to  exercise  their  social 
function  and  to  share  in  the  promotion  of  certain 
social  aims  looking  to  the  general  welfare.  The  first 
step  is  to  study  the  social  situation,  and  then  to  turn 
on  the  light  of  investigation,  history,  and  experience 
regarding  the  ethical  question  involved  until  the 
facts  take  a  firm  hold  on  the  social  mind,  and  men 
become  aroused  to  act  in  harmony  with  the  social 
discovery.  Consequently  those  who  would  do  away 
with  social  injustice,  political  crookedness,  and  offi- 
cial unrighteousness  can  do  no  better  work  than  to 
create  and  shape  the  conscience  of  the  community. 

Public  opinion  is  a  potent  formative  force  in  so- 
cial reform.  It  cannot  be  seen,  weighed,  or  measured; 
but  when  once  aroused  it  will  send  an  army  across 
the  continent,  or  girdle  the  globe  with  missionaries. 
Its  power  has  been  exemplified  in  the  history  of  all 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  105 

social  movements.  It  not  only  controls  the  conduct 
of  the  savage  tribes,  but  becomes  the  arbiter  of  events 
in  all  civilized  society.  The  wisest  statesmen  and 
reformers  have  never  overlooked  the  importance  of 
developing  public  sentiment  to  work  social  reform. 
"Promote,  then,"  says  Washington,  in  his  farewell 
address,  "institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge.  In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  the 
government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essen- 
tial that  the  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened." 
It  is  as  true  now  as  when  Phillips,  the  great  Boston 
orator,  urged  it  upon  a  Fanueil  Hall  audience  in 
1852,  that,  "  There  is  nothing  strong  enough  to  stand 
against  public  opinion ;  and  if  the  tongues  of  the  press 
are  not  parents  of  that,  what  is?  The  man  who 
launches  a  sound  argument,  who  sets  on  two  feet  a 
startling  fact  and  bids  it  travel  from  Maine  to  Georgia, 
is  just  as  certain  that  in  the  end  he  will  change  the 
government  as  if,  to  destroy  the  capital,  he  had 
placed  gunpowder  under  the  senate  chamber." 

It  is  obvious  that  social  reforms  come  through  a 
process  of  education  and  persuasion.  They  escape 
a  spasmodic  character  and  move  forward  steadily 
just  in  proportion  as  they  are  embedded  in  the  pub- 
lic conscience.  They  come  by  slow  degrees.  It  often 
takes  years  to  interweave  any  new  moral  idea  into 
the  social  order  and  to  make  it  a  living  part  of  society. 
Le  Bon,  a  writer  of  social  psychology,  tells  us  that 
reforms  pass  through  the  several  periods  of  affirma- 
tion, reiteration,  and  contagion.  The  majority  of  the 
people  move  forward  slowly  to  any  advanced  ethical 


106  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

position.  Preceding  the  advent  of  Garrison,  the 
apostle  of  antislavery,  there  were  one  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  years  of  antislavery  seed-sowing,  fifty- 
eight  years  of  organized  movements  by  societies  and 
conventions,  and  sixty  years  of  legislation  against 
slavery  by  ecclesiastical  bodies.  It  is  evident  that  it 
takes  time  for  the  religious,  social,  and  political  con- 
sciousness of  the  people  to  come  up  to  the  standard 
of  the  new  ethical  ideas  involved  in  social  reforms. 
The  potential  moral  elements  in  society,  however, 
gradually  assert  themselves  and  moral  triumphs  are 
gained.  The  long,  diligent  preparation  generally 
culminates  in  a  sharp,  decisive  contest. 

Generally  speaking,  social  reforms  pass  through 
several  stages.  The  first  stage  may  be  regarded  as 
one  of  interrogation  and  discovery.  Wrong  senti- 
ments and  unrighteous  customs  embody  themselves 
in  society.  Social  wrongs  are  often  tolerated  for  cen- 
turies before  the  people  seriously  question  their  eth- 
ical basis.  The  history  of  polygamy,  slavery,  duel- 
ing, gambling,  the  social  vice,  and  the  saloon  abun- 
dantly confirms  the  statement.  There  comes,  how- 
ever, the  period  of  discovery.  A  few  advanced  think- 
ers come  to  see  that  existing  social  institutions,  tra- 
ditions, sentiments,  and  laws  do  not  express  funda- 
mental ethical  principles.  They  recognize  a  larger 
moral  truth  and  standard  for  society  than  the  exist- 
ing one.  They  aim  to  point  out  the  social  wrong  and 
thus  arouse  the  public  conscience  to  correct  the  evil. 
The  leavening  process  goes  on  until  there  gradually 
dawns  upon  the  public  consciousness  a  sense  of  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  107 

gravity  of  the  ethical  situation  that  exists,  together 
with  a  desire  to  take  advanced  steps  in  social  morality. 

This  period  of  toleration  and  discussion  as  to  the 
right  and  wrong  involved  in  social  conduct  natu- 
rally awakens  differences  of  opinion,  and  sometimes 
bitter  opposition.  The  consideration  of  the  ethical 
question  involved  brings  forward  the  radical  and 
conservative  elements  in  social  movements.  Social 
progress  proceeds  along  the  line  of  these  two  oppos- 
ing forces.  The  radicals,  through  the  revelation  of 
what  they  consider  the  larger  truth,  pass  beyond  the 
apparently  fixed  social  customs  and  traditions.  They 
move  forward  and  become  the  vanguard  of  a  new  so- 
cial ideal.  They  become  prophets  and  reformers  of 
the  times.  They  hold  to  the  truth  of  the  past,  and 
at  the  same  time  see  that  it  is  not  the  whole  truth. 
They  start  out  by  formulating  a  policy  made  red- 
hot  by  conviction.  These  bold  and  daring  spirits 
lead  the  way  and  inspire  great  reform  movements. 
They  sow  the  seed  that  some  day  germinates  in  pub- 
lic action. 

There  is  likewise  a  conservative  traditional  power 
in  every  community  and  nation.  The  dominant 
ideas,  customs,  and  institutions  become  so  prevalent 
that  they  seem  to  be  fixed  and  secure  factors  of  so- 
ciety. People  come  to  have  a  passive  acquiescence 
in  the  existing  state  of  things.  Even  if  they  do  see  a 
social  wrong  that  should  be  righted,  many  are  afraid 
to  touch  it  from  a  dread  of  losing  what  is  already 
gained.  This  element  in  society  may  have  convic- 
tions as  to  the  moral  wrong  existing  in  a  community, 


108  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

and  yet  believe  that  the  breaking  away  from  pres- 
ent conditions  would  mean  the  uprooting  of  the 
whole  social  order.  Various  motives  lead  men  to 
tolerate  unrighteousness  rather  than  to  face  an  up- 
heaval which  may  cost  them  some  personal  incon- 
venience, or  some  social  or  financial  loss.  They  pre- 
fer rather  to  move  along  the  line  of  least  resistance. 
The  conservatives,  with  their  commingling  of  vari- 
ous motives  and  self-interests,  fear  a  reform  that 
would  place  things  upon  a  new  basis,  break  up  old 
ties,  disrupt  old  associations,  and  cause  a  readjust- 
ment of  the  whole  social  structure.  Their  minds 
naturally  revolt  at  any  attempt  to  destroy  the  tra- 
ditional habits  and  customs  of  the  people.  It  seems 
to  them  like  destroying  the  very  foundation  of  things. 
The  result  is  that  the  radicals  are  looked  upon  as 
narrow,  impetuous,  visionary,  incapable  of  feeling 
the  force  of  more  than  one  idea,  and  blind  to  every- 
thing that  does  not  come  within  the  horizon  of  their 
belief.  Their  extravagant  theories  appear  to  the 
conservative  mind  as  an  unwarranted  protest  against 
the  existing  state  of  affairs. 

The  opposition  thus  aroused  leads  the  conserva- 
tives to  hold  up  the  radicals  to  ridicule.  They  see  in 
the  reform  the  accidental  and  grotesque,  rather  than 
the  fundamental  and  essential.  The  followers  of  Je- 
sus were  first  called  Christians  at  Antioch  as  a  mat- 
ter of  derision.  Wesley  and  his  followers  were  sub- 
ject to  the  worst  ridicule.  The  Salvation  Army  has 
been  shown  up  in  the  most  grotesque  form  because 
the  people  failed  to  recognize  its  essential  significance. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  109 

The  power  of  the  conservative  class  rests  upon  their 
intrenched  position.  Behind  them  are  the  past  tra- 
dition, present  customs,  and  existing  institutions. 
Their  chief  danger  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  do  not 
keep  in  touch  with  the  masses.  Consequently,  re- 
forms naturally  come  from  the  people.  Reforms  are 
not  handed  down  from  the  classes  to  the  masses,  but 
pass  from  the  masses  to  the  intrenched  classes.  The 
Magna  Charta,  Petition  of  Rights,  and  the  Bill  of 
Rights  by  which  England  escaped  the  condition  of 
servitude  and  oppression  were  wrested  from  the 
haughty  kings.  The  radicals,  on  the  contrary,  re- 
gard the  conservatives  as  slow,  unprogressive,  and 
stationary.  They  assert  that  stolid  immobility  is  as 
dangerous  and  destructive  as  rashness,  and  that  the 
conservatives  cling  to  past  customs  and  traditions, 
and,  through  dread  of  the  future,  check  and  chill  the 
enthusiasm  for  all  social  betterment.  The  radicals 
are  too  prone  to  ignore  all  claims  of  tradition,  re- 
ligion, or  law,  and  to  become  so  impatient  and  em- 
bittered at  the  tardy  movements  of  the  conservative 
class  as  to  become  side-tracked.  They  forget  the 
principles  for  which  they  are  struggling  in  order  to 
censure  and  berate  the  very  people  that  should  be 
their  allies.  Their  tendency  is  to  scorn  compromise 
and  to  become  dogmatic,  intolerant,  and  abusive. 
Notwithstanding  this  danger,  the  reformer's  pro- 
phetic vision  and  advanced  ideas  are  often  the  essen- 
tial forerunners  of  all  efforts  looking  toward  the  bet- 
terment of  mankind.  Their  dreams  of  yesterday  be- 
come the  realities  of  to-day.  They  should  learn, 


110  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

however,  to  bide  their  time  until  the  leaven  of  truth 
which  they  have  helped  to  infuse  into  the  social  mind 
shall  gradually  permeate  the  whole  social  life. 

The  stage  of  interrogation  and  discovery  merges 
into  a  period  of  compromise  and  restriction.  The 
divergent  theories  of  the  radicals  and  conservatives 
are  brought  into  strong  contrasts.  Agitation  arouses 
deep  public  feeling.  The  storm  of  public  indigna- 
tion begins  to  gradually  beat  upon  the  citadel  of 
political  power.  Something  must  be  done  to  cor- 
rect the  social  wrongs.  Legislators  seek  to  compro- 
mise the  issue  by  passing  appropriate  laws  to  restrict, 
if  not  to  prohibit,  the  evil.  The  way  is  now  prepared 
for  the  more  judicial  minds  in  society  to  see  and 
weigh  both  sides  of  the  question. 

The  average  mind  that  enters  into  the  discussion 
involved  in  every  great  reform  movement  is  likely 
to  become  partisan.  The  intense  party  spirit  gen- 
erated in  the  strife  tends  to  obscure  the  light  on  both 
sides,  and  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  a  judicial  tem- 
per of  mind.  Neither  the  radical  nor  the  conserva- 
tive class  may  be  said  to  have  the  whole  full-orbed 
truth.  The  old  and  apparently  established  social 
ideals  are  so  magnified  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
visions  of  the  new  ideals  stand  out  so  prominently 
on  the  other,  that  the  germ  of  truth  involved  on 
both  sides  is  intercepted  by  party  spirit.  The  more 
thoughtful  class  of  the  community,  who  see  the  two 
halves  of  social  reform  movements,  attempt  to  bring 
about  a  union.  The  period  of  antithesis  is  followed 
by  the  period  of  synthesis.  Judicial  minds  seek  to 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  111 

harmonize  the  antagonistic  elements  by  recogniz- 
ing the  germinal  truth  in  both,  and  so  to  produce 
a  reconciliation  with  a  view  to  adoption.  These  oppo- 
sing social  elements  are  finally  brought  into  union 
through  mutual  concessions  and  compromises.  The 
underlying  principles  in  each  are  formulated  and 
crystallized  into  laws  and  customs,  so  that  the  eth- 
ical position  in  the  reform  movement  for  the  time 
being  seems  fixed. 

The  effort  to  secure  harmony  between  the  con- 
servatives and  the  radicals  is  more  than  a  vulgar 
compromise,  which  would  mean  the  surrender  of 
certain  truths.  Compromise  is  rather  a  willingness 
to  hold  in  abeyance  certain  truths,  or  to  concede 
something  in  order  to  secure  agreement  on  some 
vital  point.  The  agreement  may  be  temporary  and 
short-lived,  but  it  will  prepare  the  way  eventually 
for  a  more  pronounced  sentiment  regarding  the  so- 
cial wrong.  This  method  of  compromise  is  in  har- 
mony with  historical  development  and  the  princi- 
ple laid  down  by  Aristotle,  the  father  of  "  the  golden 
mean."  Some  people  who  work  earnestly  for  social 
betterment  disregard  this  method.  The  radicals  in 
France  impetuously  sought  for  liberty.  They  scorned 
compromise  and  refused  to  consider  the  claims  of  re- 
ligion or  law,  and  brought  on  a  revolution.  A  polit- 
ical philosopher  has  well  said  that  the  healthful  de- 
velopment of  the  English  Constitution  was  due  to 
the  fact  that  "no  particular  principle  ever  attained 
an  exclusive  influence.  There  was  always  a  simul- 
taneous development  of  different  forces,  and  a  sort 


112  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

of  negotiation  and  compromise  between  their  pre- 
tensions and  interests."  The  great  interests  of  man- 
kind have  been  furthered  by  men  of  wide  vision, 
who  considered  the  welfare  of  all  parties  and  could 
unite  the  contending  elements.  Bismarck  gave  a  life- 
time to  the  unification  of  Germany.  Gladstone 
sought  the  symmetrical  development  of  all  English 
interests.  Lincoln  never  forgot  the  multiplicity  of 
interests  of  the  nation,  and  he  adopted  a  broad,  con- 
ciliatory policy.  His  comprehensive  rallying-cry  for 
the  support  of  every  loyal  citizen  was,  "My  para- 
mount object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to 
save  or  destroy  slavery.  What  I  do  about  slavery 
and  the  colored  race  I  do  because  I  believe  it  helps 
the  Union,  and  what  I  forbear  from  I  forbear  be- 
cause I  do  not  believe  it  will  save  the  Union."  The 
long,  slow  period  of  compromise  is  only  incidental 
to  the  forward  social  movement.  Prior  to  the  Civil 
War  there  were  more  than  forty  years  of  compromis- 
ing effort  on  the  part  of  Congress  to  settle  the  moral 
issue.  The  opposing  forces  were  mustered  in  Con- 
gress and  many  legislative  battles  were  fought  with- 
out avail.  Those  who  think  they  can  draw  a  Mason 
and  Dixon  line  on  moral  questions,  and  thereby 
settle  them,  once  for  all,  are  greatly  mistaken.  No 
moral  question  is  settled  until  it  is  settled  right. 
The  history  of  social  evolution  teaches  us  that  public 
indignation  will  at  last  reach  a  pitch  where  the 
people  will  demand  decisive  and  successful  action. 
When  the  public  conscience  attains  this  point  of 
moral  altitude  it  will  insist  on  nothing  less  than  the 
legal  prohibition  of  the  existing  social  wrong. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  113 

The  sober  moral  judgment  of  the  race  finally  as- 
serts itself.  Men  outgrow  the  barbarous  and  legal 
stage  of  a  social  reform  and  are  prepared  for  the 
moral  stage.  Every  great  moral  principle  involved 
in  social  reforms  goes  through  these  successive  stages 
and  culminates  in  a  moral  sanction,  and  is  obeyed 
from  an  inner  impulse.  The  moral  principle  passes 
from  the  active  to  the  passive  stage  when  it  settles 
down  into  habitual  convictions  and  conventional 
sentiments  of  society.  The  legal  and  moral  stages 
are  not  always  distinctive  epochs,  because  they  fre- 
quently overlap  each  other.  Historic  facts  show 
that  the  race  advances  into  the  moral  stage  by  com- 
ing through  the  legal  stage.  The  law  comes  first, 
and  the  gospel  follows.  The  law  becomes  the  school- 
master of  men  before  it  is  written  in  their  hearts.  The 
law  is  the  divine  preparation  for  the  gospel,  which 
looks  for  men  to  be  governed  by  interior  strength 
rather  than  by  outward  force.  There  is  no  incon- 
gruity or  essential  conflict  in  this  method.  The  com- 
pulsory laws  and  moral  suasion  blend  in  our  appeals 
for  men  to  respect  the  sacredness  of  life  and  prop- 
erty, and  not  to  murder,  steal,  or  lie.  We  seek  to 
repress  wrong  by  outward  compulsion,  and  at  the 
same  time  appeal  to  the  moral  sentiments  in  order 
to  induce  the  criminal  to  advance  to  the  spiritual 
plane  of  life.  It  seems  to  be  necessary  to  whip  some 
people,  as  well  as  nations,  into  lines  of  righteousness 
before  they  choose  to  be  governed  by  the  highest 
moral  principles.  Those  who  attempt  to  deal  with 
the  saloon  and  other  evils  by  the  golden-rule  method 


114          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

are  reversing  God's  method  of  putting  the  law 
first.  The  principles  of  legal  action  and  moral  sua- 
sion should  be  combined  in  all  efforts  to  improve 
the  social  situation.  The  strong  arm  of  law  should 
be  upheld  with  a  winsome  manner.  The  growth  of 
these  reform  movements  through  the  several  stages 
is  an  evidence  of  how  closely  the  ideas  and  life  of  a 
people  are  interwoven  with  the  common  vices  and 
passions,  and  also  how  slowly  men  come  to  recog- 
nize their  own  possibilities  and  nobility  of  spirit. 
The  anti-saloon  movement  is  passing  through  these 
various  stages.  Some  sections  of  our  country  are  still 
in  the  barbarous  stage  of  the  reform;  and  a  still 
larger  section  is  passing  through  the  protracted  pe- 
riod of  compromise  and  restriction;  while  a  compar- 
atively small  section  has  reached  that  desirable  social 
condition  where  the  legal  prohibition  of  the  saloon 
evil  receives  the  moral  sanction  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  citizens.  This  small  contingent  is  prophetic 
of  the  time  when  the  inner  convictions  of  the  citizens 
in  all  sections  of  our  fair  land  will  take  the  place  of 
authority  in  prohibiting  this  great  social  wrong.  Agi- 
tation is  one  of  the  essential  social  factors  to  get  the 
people  to  think  alike  and  to  move  in  the  same  direc- 
tion for  saloon  suppression.  If  the  Church  awakens 
to  its  responsibility,  and  keeps  up  an  aggressive  cam- 
paign of  agitation,  the  steady,  increasing  pressure  of 
advanced  anti-saloon  sentiment  in  the  midst  of  seem- 
ing stagnation  will  soon  reach  a  culmination,  and 
the  saloon  as  a  social  institution  will  be  a  thing  of 
the  past. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  115 

Throughout  the  conflict  bear  in  mind  that  the 
process  of  education  and  persuasion  will  be  followed 
by  a  gradual  process  of  personal  adjustment  and  so- 
cial adaptation  to  the  new  situation.  The  multitude 
is  incredulous  and  slow  to  act  even  when  convinced  as 
to  the  facts  and  reasonableness  of  reform  measures. 
Even  when  some  people  see  the  light  and  are  per- 
suaded that  the  social  principle  involved  in  the  pro- 
posed reform  is  right,  they  question  the  value  and 
advisability  of  its  present  recognition.  Although  the 
saloon  may  be  repugnant  to  the  social  sentiment  of  a 
community,  and  the  majority  of  its  citizens  may  be 
convinced  of  its  pernicious  effects,  yet  they  are  some- 
times loath  to  restrict  and  prevent  it.  Through  the 
fear  of  losing  its  revenue,  or  for  some  other  selfish  or 
ill-considered  reason,  they  tolerate  the  social  wrong. 
The  only  correctives  are  an  aroused  public  conscience 
and  the  cooperative  effort  of  patriotic  citizens. 

Public  sentiment  comes  through  public  awaken- 
ing. This  involves  freedom  and  intelligence  in  the 
use  of  means  to  give  publicity  to  any  proposed  social 
reform.  It  is  a  significant  fact  in  our  modern  life 
that  there  is  such  a  rapid  and  wide-spread  system 
for  gathering  facts  and  elaborating  opinions  on  any 
subject  bearing  on  social  welfare.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  increased  knowledge,  maturing  observation, 
and  the  progressive  organizations  of  the  present  day 
will  help  more  quickly  to  secure  greater  public  at- 
tention and  interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  social 
welfare,  and  so  hasten  reform  movements.  The  cen- 
tral task  before  the  Church  is  to  utilize  all  the  means 


116          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

and  agencies  to  build  up  a  healthy  public  sentiment 
on  moral  questions,  and  direct  the  same  for  more 
effective  work  in  the  realization  of  the  true  social  idea. 

Among  these  agencies  may  be  mentioned  the  fact 
that  the  Federal  and  State  governments  are  gather- 
ing expert  information  and  publishing  valuable  re- 
ports and  statistics  bearing  on  nearly  all  social  and 
economic  problems.  For  the  furthering  of  human 
welfare  these  reports  are  freely  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  investigators  and  leaders  of  reform.  Again, 
the  educational  system  may  likewise  be  a  means  of 
developing  public  sentiment.  The  special  work  of 
the  Church  on  this  line  should  be  to  maintain  Chris- 
tian colleges  and  universities  where  advanced  ideas 
are  initiated  and  which  will  soon  influence  all  the 
lower  grades  of  our  school  system.  "As  go  the  col- 
leges of  to-day,"  says  John  R,  Mott,  "so  goes  the 
world  to-morrow/'  The  uniform  teaching  of  scien- 
tific facts  regarding  the  use  of  alcohol  as  a  beverage 
in  our  colleges  and  public  schools  throughout  the 
country  is  a  marvellous  revelation  of  what  can  be 
done  to  further  the  cause  of  sobriety.  The  Lincoln 
Legion,  The  Gideons,  and  other  temperance  organ- 
izations, through  moral  suasion  and  pledge-signing 
efforts,  are  raising  up  an  army  of  total  abstainers, 
and  in  a  quiet  and  effective  manner  are  building  a 
public  sentiment  and  will  contribute  largely  toward 
the  solution  of  the  saloon  problem. 

Another  effective  means  for  public-sentiment 
building  is  the  public  press,  with  its  remarkable 
facility  of  gathering  and  spreading  news.  The  pub- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  117 

lie  press  is  an  educational  agency  of  transcendent 
importance.  Public  affairs  are  governed  largely  by 
the  public  press.  Wherever  it  is  enlisted  social  re- 
form moves  freely  and  rapidly.  Its  interests,  how- 
ever, are  not  always  identical  with  that  of  society. 
If  its  editorial  policy  is  governed  by  revenue  it  be- 
comes a  great  corrupter  of  public  conscience.  The 
journalists  that  realize  the  power  and  opportunity 
of  the  press  as  an  uplifting  social  agency  are  bend- 
ing their  energies  to  meet  their  grave  responsibil- 
ities as  ethical  teachers.  If  the  newspapers  of  this 
country  would  refuse  to  be  bribed  by  the  paid  ad- 
vertisements of  the  liquor  interests,  and  would  show 
reasonable  agreement  as  to  the  importance  of  ban- 
ishing the  saloon,  their  powerful  and  resistless  in- 
fluence would  soon  carry  the  whole  community 
with  practical  unanimity,  and  the  cause  of  civic 
virtue  and  public  morals  would  soon  triumph.  The 
wise  leaders  of  reform  appreciate  the  power  of  the 
press  and  seek  to  make  it  an  indispensable  ally  and 
helper  in  the  work  of  civic  patriotism.  Ministers 
and  laymen  in  every  community  would  do  well  to 
furnish  to  the  local  newspapers  material  for  one  or 
two  columns  a  week  bearing  on  the  saloon  problem. 
The  weekly  religious  papers,  now  numbering 
about  one  thousand,  are  among  the  strongholds 
of  the  church  in  shaping  public  opinion.  The  ed- 
itors are  likely  to  have  an  intelligent  conception  of 
their  opportunities,  as  well  as  the  time  and  dispo- 
sition to  study  and  comment  intelligibly  on  the  grave 
and  complex  social  problems.  They  have  no  finan- 


118  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

cial  motives  to  be  unfair  or  to  mislead  their  constit- 
uency. To  them  the  requirements  of  truth  and 
morals  are  of  the  first  importance.  These  clean 
moral  organs,  whose  function  it  is  to  educate  the 
moral  conscience,  render  an  invaluable  service  to 
humanity.  Likewise  literature,  pamphlets,  and  cir- 
culars may  all  be  employed  as  a  means  to  develop 
a  healthy  public  sentiment.  Wesley  wrote  and  edited 
more  than  two  hundred  books  and  pamphlets,  and 
exerted  thereby  a  prodigious  power  in  the  world. 
Wilberforce  used  to  the  fullest  extent  the  public 
press,  and  poured  forth  pamphlets,  appeals,  and 
letters  upon  the  apathetic  mass  of  the  people.  He 
gave  ten  years  of  unremitting  labor  to  write  a  book 
upon  the  slave  trade;  the  tremendous  effect  it  pro- 
duced in  the  House  of  Lords  and  House  of  Com- 
mons led  to  the  passage  of  the  Abolition  Bill.  Neal 
Dow,  the  apostle  of  prohibition  in  Maine,  once  said, 
"  The  State  was  sowed  knee-deep  with  literature  be- 
fore prohibition  became  an  actual  power."  The 
liquor  interests  have  instituted  a  systematic  "  Cam- 
paign of  Education."  The  report  of  the  Protective 
Bureau  of  the  National  Wholesale  Liquor  Dealers' 
Association  for  1904  shows  that  in  one  year  there 
were  published  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  country 
more  than  four  million  cleverly  written  pieces  of  lit- 
erature, with  the  view  to  "popularize"  the  trade. 

The  personal  equation  is  likewise  an  important 
factor  in  building  up  public  sentiment.  Those  who 
practise  abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors  as  a 
beverage,  and  who  at  opportune  moments  discuss 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  119 

the  saloon  problem  intelligently  and  dispassionately 
in  the  home,  the  church,  the  Sunday  school,  the 
office,  the  shop,  and  elsewhere,  are  contributing  a 
silent  but  weighty  influence  in  building  public  sen- 
timent that  some  day  will  be  crystallized  into  laws, 
and  will  encourage  the  enforcement  of  the  existing 
laws  against  the  saloon.  The  man  who  assumes  or 
implies  in  his  speeches,  writings,  and  conversations 
that  the  saloon  is  not  a  social  evil  strengthens  the 
liquor  traffic  and  thereby  retards  reform. 

The  most  effectual  power  to  prevent  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  saloon  and  to  abolish  those  already 
existing  is  for  all  churches  to  develop  a  pronounced 
public  sentiment  against  it.  Lincoln  has  well  said, 
"With  public  sentiment,  nothing  can  fail;  without 
it,  nothing  can  succeed.  Consequently  he  who 
moulds  public  sentiment  goes  deeper  than  he  who 
enacts  statutes  and  pronounces  decisions.  He  makes 
statutes  or  decisions  possible  or  impossible  to  be  ex- 
ecuted." The  average  public  official  is  likely  to 
abdicate  his  moral  convictions  regarding  the  saloon 
issue.  Primarily,  the  fault  is  with  the  voters  who 
are  not  enough  in  earnest  to  change  conditions. 
Legislators  and  executive  officers  aim  to  carry  out 
the  policy  of  their  constituents.  They  take  into  ac- 
count the  character  and  amount  of  public  opinion 
on  the  saloon  question.  They  will  not  trifle  with 
voters  who  have  moral  convictions  sufficiently  strong 
to  express  them  at  the  polls.  If  the  churches,  as  the 
chief  agencies  to  control  and  inspire  public  opinion 
on  moral  issues,  should  show  themselves  worthy  of 


120  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

their  high  opportunities  and  lay  stress  of  effort  upon 
public-sentiment  building,  the  saloon  would  be 
speedily  suppressed. 

The  pulpit  is  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  power 
for  public-sentiment  building.  Most  of  the  converg- 
ing lines  of  moral  and  helpful  influences  enter  the 
community  through  this  channel.  The  ministers 
are  the  real  and  essential  leaders  of  the  people  along 
moral  lines.  The  pulpit  is  their  throne  of  power. 
When  the  public  mind  is  misinformed  or  the  public 
conscience  perverted  it  becomes  the  plain  duty  of 
the  pulpit  to  enlighten  the  people,  and  to  create  and 
direct  the  public  conscience.  Let  it  be  understood 
that  it  is  as  important  to  seek  to  arouse  the  major- 
ity of  church-members  to  intelligent  action  as  it 
would  be  to  enlist  the  general  public.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  has  its  limitations.  Spiritual  regener- 
ation is  a  primary  force,  and  yet  it  is  only  one  of 
the  various  forces  in  social  reconstruction.  The 
divine  energy  works  through  the  natural  faculties  of 
man.  It  affects  the  nature  and  motives  of  men, 
but  does  not  carry  with  it  a  corresponding  change 
in  intellect,  judgment,  or  conscience.  It  introduces 
into  the  human  heart  an  impulse  to  do  right,  and 
gives  strength  to  carry  out  the  impulse,  but  it  does 
not  take  a  man  out  of  his  social  environment,  which 
may  be  wholly  un-Christian.  Consequently,  regen- 
eration is  efficient,  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  effect 
social  reform.  The  Church  has  been  true  to  her 
spiritual  function  of  developing  an  army  of  reform- 
atory forces  through  regenerate  men,  but  it  has 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


shown  great  weakness  in  directing  these  forces  in 
such  a  united  manner  as  to  secure  definite  results 
for  social  betterment.  The  majority  of  church- 
members  are  neglecting  an  unparalleled  opportunity 
to  help  guide  public  opinion  and  to  initiate  reform 
measure  on  the  great  moral  and  social  problems. 
Some  one  has  appropriately  said,  "  The  feeble  trem- 
ble before  public  opinion,  the  foolish  defy  it,  the 
wise  judge  it,  and  the  skilful  direct  it."  One  of  the 
functions  of  the  pulpit  is  to  educate  the  Christian 
conscience  to  see  social  wrongs  and  to  so  direct  the 
activities  of  the  Church  as  to  inaugurate  practical 
methods  of  reform. 

With  this  purpose  in  view  the  preacher  should 
not  deal  in  vague,  indefinite  generalities  and  rhetoric, 
but  he  should  seek  to  make  his  message  real,  definite, 
and  applicable  to  every-day  affairs.  He  should  aim 
to  concentrate  public  thought  upon  one  specific  re- 
form issue  at  a  time.  When  definite  results  are  se- 
cured the  people  will  be  ready  for  an  advance  step 
in  social  betterment.  There  are  times  when  his  words 
should  scorch  and  burn.  There  is  no  need  of  whole- 
sale dogmatism  and  denunciation,  but  a  calm  crit- 
icism of  social  vice  is  essential.  The  stern  demand 
of  civic  righteousness  may  arouse  antagonism,  but 
it  is  the  function  of  the  true  prophet  to  rebuke  sin 
and  to  help  right  the  social  wrongs  and  injustices. 
The  community  may  be  made  vibrant  and  electric 
with  waves  of  enthusiasm  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
organized  iniquity  of  the  open  saloon  whenever  the 
pulpit  courageously  and  persistently  presents  the 


122  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

facts,  points  out  the  moral  evils,  and  awakens  and 
moves  the  public  conscience  to  an  energetic  and 
effective  activity.  We  cite  a  concrete  typical  instance 
of  what  is  being  done  by  many  pastors  all  over  our 
land. 

Rev.  A.  C.  Turrell  was  a  brave,  fearless,  and  in- 
telligent man.  In  speaking  of  how  the  saloons  were 
banished  from  Xenia,  Ohio,  he  said :  "  We  had  thirty- 
three  saloons  to  a  population  of  about  nine  thousand. 
We  saw  the  saloons  could  not  exist  and  our  sons  and 
brothers  and  fathers  keep  sober.  These  saloons 
must  live  on  the  ruins  of  our  homes.  We  first  pre- 
sented these  facts  to  the  people  —  not  in  glittering 
generalities,  after  the  old  style  of  illustration,  but 
we  gave  the  people  recent  local  facts:  we  gave  the 
names  of  minors  made  drunk,  the  quantity  of  money 
spent,  and  by  whom,  the  names  of  guilty  saloon- 
keepers. We  knew  what  we  were  talking  about. 
We  were  threatened.  I  received  letters  threaten- 
ing to  destroy  my  home,  to  have  my  children's  eyes 
put  out  with  blue  vitriol,  etc.  That  is  the  spirit  of 
the  evil  we  are  fighting.  We  kept  on  finding  facts 
and  publishing  them,  by  speech  and  press,  from 
pulpit  and  platform.  Some  of  the  people  began  to 
open  their  eyes  and  their  mouths.  They  said,  *  Why 
does  not  some  one  put  a  stop  to  these  things  ? '  That 
was  the  first  stage  of  awakening.  We  kept  right  on 
piling  up  facts.  After  a  few  weeks  of  agitation  we 
began  to  organize.  Our  organization  grew.  It  be- 
gan with  a  few.  It  was  qualitative,  not  quantita- 
tive. The  earnest  ones  told  and  found  others.  We 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  123 

came  to  election-day.  We  organized  for  that  day 
especially.  We  had  judges  and  challengers;  carriages 
to  bring  apathetic  men  to  the  polls.  We  had  a  com- 
mittee, who  had  the  wards  districted,  to  send  for 
sluggards  and  men  with  short  memories  on  election- 
day.  We  personally  called  on  all.  We  had  brass 
band  and  street  oratory  and  all  that,  but  relied  at 
last  on  personal  touch  and  personal  work.  We 
counted  noses  and  votes.  We  had  estimated  our 
majority  two  hundred,  and  so  wired  headquarters. 
We  had  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine,  and  have 
been  looking  for  that  rascal  ever  since." 

It  is  related  of  the  Roman  Cato  that  he  would 
invariably  conclude  his  speeches  with  the  words, 
"  Carthage  must  be  destroyed!"  and  it  was  destroyed. 
When  the  leaders  of  civic  life  and  thought  realize 
the  menace  of  the  saloon  to  our  civilization,  and  cry 
aloud,  "The  saloon  must  go,"  it  will  go. 

This  serious  saloon  problem,  if  it  means  anything, 
appeals  alike  to  all  the  churches.  These  should 
unite  and  have  a  continuity  of  policy  and  a  tenacity 
of  purpose  to  mould  a  vigorous  opinion  against  the 
saloon.  The  local  churches  in  each  community 
should  take  the  initiative  and  unite  upon  some  sys- 
tematic plan  of  agitation.  By  this  it  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood there  is  to  be  an  occasional  sermon,  a  cas- 
ual recommendation,  or  a  fitful  spasm  of  discourse 
just  before  some  local  election.  On  the  contrary, 
phenomenal  results  will  follow  a  systematic,  united, 
and  concentrated  effort  of  the  churches  to  have 
monthly  meetings  for  the  agitation  against  the  sa- 


124          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

loon  in  every  town  throughout  the  land.  If  the 
speeches  are  marked  by  a  calm,  clear  judgment, 
and  the  people  aroused  to  decisive  action,  these 
meetings  may  be  very  helpful  and  inspiring.  No 
outside  organization  can  relieve  the  pastors  of  the 
responsibility  for  developing  local  sentiment  against 
the  saloon.  When  this  local  sentiment  is  aroused 
the  State-wide  organization  of  the  churches  may 
direct  and  utilize  the  local  sentiment  so  as  to  secure 
wholesome  anti-saloon  laws,  and  in  so  far  as  possible 
to  cooperate  with  each  community  to  help  itself  by 
inaugurating  and  pushing  a  local  warfare  against 
the  saloon. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  125 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ESSENTIAL  FACTORS  IN  LEGISLATIVE 
ACTION 

God  give  us  men!  A  time  like  this  demands 

Strong  minds,  great  hearts,  true  faith,  and  ready  hands; 

Men  whom  the  lust  of  office  cannot  buy; 
Men  who  possess  opinions  and  a  will; 

Men  who  have  honor;  men  who  will  not  lie; 
Men  who  can  stand  before  a  demagogue 

And  damn  his  treacherous  flatteries  without  winking! 
Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  live  above  its  fog 

In  public  duty  and  in  private  thinking. 
For,  while  the  rabble,  with  their  thumb-worn  creeds, 
Their  large  professions  and  their  little  deeds, 
Mingle  in  selfish  strife  —  lo!  Freedom  weeps, 
Wrong  rules  the  land,  and  waiting  Justice  sleeps! 

—  J.  G.  HOLLAND. 

PUBLIC  sentiment  and  moral  conviction  on 
great  questions  of  social  welfare  sooner  or 
later   find   expression    in   legislative   enact- 
ments.    These  serve  as  instruments  to  help  shape 
individual  and  social  activity.     A  clear  conception 
of  the  moral  idea  and  spirit  that  should  underlie  the 
task  before  legislative  bodies  is  quite  important. 

Government  is  an  organization  of  beings  with 
moral  attributes.  It  rests  upon  the  moral  nature  of 
its  moral  constituents.  Its  mission  is  to  maintain 
and  develop  morals.  Government  as  a  psychic  or- 
ganism manifests  itself  in  laws  and  institutions. 
Laws,  whether  organic,  statutory,  or  customary,  to 
be  valid  and  effective  rules  of  human  action,  should 
conform  to  the  divine  principles  of  justice  and  equity. 


126  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

They  should  be  enacted  with  a  view  to  guard  rights, 
secure  justice,  and  restrain  lawlessness,  in  order 
that  each  citizen  may  have  the  opportunity  to  exer- 
cise the  ethical  prerogative  of  self-government,  and 
by  so  doing  to  conserve  the  good  of  society.  The 
aim  should  be  to  discourage  vice  and  encourage  vir- 
tue, and  to  lead  each  citizen  to  participate  in  the  en- 
deavor to  make  a  self-governing  community  based 
upon  the  principles  of  the  moral  law. 

Civil  laws  do  not  encroach  upon  personal  liberty 
when  they  are  enacted  in  behalf  of  the  common  weal. 
Personal  liberty  is  neither  license  nor  wilfulness; 
but  it  implies  rational  self-determination.  It  is  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  the  unhindered  opportunity 
to  fulfil  the  law  of  one's  own  being.  Man  is  part  of 
a  social  system  greater  than  himself.  His  moral  na- 
ture impels  him  to  do  right,  and  to  be  a  true  man. 

His  individual  preferences  or  whims  are  not  the 
final  law  of  conduct.  His  liberty  is  conditioned  upon 
his  moral  attributes  and  circumscribed  by  the  higher 
demands  of  the  moral  law  and  the  welfare  of  society 
in  which  he  lives.  Right  conduct,  then,  is  not  a  con- 
ventional or  legal  morality,  but  a  participation  in  a 
social  and  spiritual  order,  having  a  comprehensive 
moral  purpose.  The  social  ideal  is  to  make  possible 
for  the  many  the  full  life  of  the  individual.  The  end 
of  social  conduct  is  not  to  give  the  greatest  amount 
of  pleasure  to  the  individual,  but  to  aid  all  in  self- 
realization.  The  common  principle  of  personality 
is  the  same  whether  serving  self  or  serving  another. 
Since  society  is  the  collective  aspect  of  the  individ- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  127 

ual,  there  can  be  no  individual  reality  apart  from 
the  social  whole.  Self-realization  comes  through 
the  realization  of  social  ends,  hence  personal  and 
social  ends  are  equally  binding. 

Legislative  action  should  aim  to  secure  for  the 
individual  such  favorable  conditions  and  equality 
of  opportunity  that  by  the  exercise  of  personal  lib- 
erty he  may  develop  character  and  share  in  all  the 
benefits  of  an  advancing  civilization.  The  type  of 
personal  liberty  rightfully  due  to  the  innocent  and 
weak,  as  well  as  to  the  strong  and  courageous,  is 
that  no  one  shall  be  hampered  and  hindered  in  self- 
realization,  but  rather  to  be  favored  with  social  order 
and  encouragement  for  acquiring  health,  virtue,  and 
an  undisturbed  household  where  the  noblest  qual- 
ities of  character  may  be  developed. 

Society  does  not  aim  to  make  men  moral  by 
means  of  laws,  but  rather  to  surround  all  persons 
with  wholesome  influences,  and  to  prevent  one  in- 
dividual or  one  community  from  doing  what  is  inju- 
rious to  another.  Each  one  is  at  liberty  to  set  up 
his  own  ethical  standards  and  follow  his  own  ethical 
ideal,  as  long  as  they  do  not  work  injury  to  the  com- 
munity. The  preferences  of  the  individual  pertain- 
ing to  health  and  morals  are  subordinate  to  that  of 
society.  The  equity  is  based  on  moral  principles. 
Individual  rights  depend  upon  the  rights  of  the  com- 
munity. Each  citizen  shares  alike  in  the  advantages 
of  public  order  and  morals.  Whatever  society  de- 
mands it  secures  to  the  individual.  Obviously,  per- 
sonal liberty  involves  not  merely  the  power,  but  the 


128  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

right,  to  do  as  one  pleases.  In  no  sense  does  the 
power  to  perform  an  act  constitute  the  right  to  do 
it.  Personal  liberty,  then,  demands  that  men  of 
wrong  individual  impulses  and  vicious  tendencies 
be  surrounded  with  the  authority  of  the  law,  so  that 
they  may  develop  a  sense  of  duty  and  self-restraint, 
and  be  dissuaded  and  educated  away  from  vice  and 
crime.  Just  laws  tend  to  conserve  conditions  that 
virtue  may  flourish  by  choice.  Both  freedom  and 
social  order  will  be  advanced  as  society  makes  it  easy 
to  do  right  and  difficult  to  do  wrong. 

Civil  laws  make  human  society  possible.  They 
condition  the  development  of  the  individual  as  well 
as  the  national  character.  They  are  enacted,  not  as 
arbitrary  impositions,  but  with  the  view  of  regulating 
the  conduct  of  the  individual  so  as  to  secure  the  good 
of  all,  and  thereby  secure  the  highest  good  to  him- 
self. They  aim  to  restrain  and  suppress  the  outward 
expression  of  wrong  motives,  and  so  to  emancipate 
the  man  as  to  afford  him  the  opportunity  through 
obedience  to  law  to  live  at  the  highest  human  level. 
These  laws  cannot  be  classed  as  sumptuary  legis- 
lation, but  they  follow  the  fundamental  principles 
of  all  government  and  demand  that  each  person 
shall  so  conduct  himself  as  not  to  interfere  with 
another's  rights.  The  Supreme  Court  has  knocked 
the  bottom  from  under  the  "personal  liberty"  argu- 
ment that  what  a  man  eats  and  drinks  is  not  prop- 
erly, a  matter  of  legislation,  and  furthermore  that 
any  injury  following  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors 
"  is  voluntarily  inflicted,  and  is  confined  to  the  party 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  129 

offended."  The  court  says:  "There  is  in  this  posi- 
tion an  assumption  of  fact  which  does  not  exist,  that 
when  the  liquors  are  taken  in  excess  the  injuries  are 
confined  to  the  party  offending.  The  injury,  it  is 
true,  falls  first  upon  him:  in  his  health,  which  the 
habit  undermines;  in  his  morals,  which  it  weakens; 
and  in  his  self-abasement,  which  it  creates.  But  as 
it  leads  to  neglect  of  business  and  waste  of  property 
and  general  demoralization,  it  affects  those  who  are 
immediately  connected  with  and  dependent  upon 
him."  The  advocates  of  a  false  type  of  personal 
liberty  should  remember  that  the  individual  cannot 
be  developed  at  the  expense  of  society  without  dan- 
ger to  both.  The  limitations  of  the  individual's 
rights  are  justified  either  on  the  ground  of  his  own 
good,  or  the  self-preservation  of  society,  or  both. 

The  ethical  principles  regarding  personal  liberty 
have  equal  force  in  the  outer  realm  of  civic  affairs. 
Local  self-government,  as  a  fundamental  part  of  our 
political  system,  has  its  limitations.  The  nation  is 
bound  together  by  a  distinct  community  of  interest. 
There  are  questions  of  right  and  morals  which  have 
such  national  importance  that  no  local  govern- 
ment can  settle  them  for  themselves.  The  Fed- 
eral government  disregards  all  local  interests  and 
the  local  standards  of  public  sentiment  when  legis- 
lating on  questions  of  health  and  morals.  It  enacts 
laws  regarding  them  which  are  applicable  to  every 
State  and  Territory  in  the  Union.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  declares:  "No  Legisla- 
ture can  bargain  away  the  public  health  or  public 


130  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

morals.  The  people  themselves  cannot  do  it;  much 
less  the  servants."  The  national  life  and  aims  as 
formulated  in  constitutional  laws  are  justified  on 
moral  grounds,  and  these  are  equally  binding  on  all 
legislative  bodies  throughout  the  nation. 

The  logic  of  the  situation  is  seen  by  citing  a  con- 
crete illustration.  A  few  years  ago  some  of  the  States 
for  the  sake  of  revenue  were  led  to  sanction  various 
lottery  schemes.  This  method  of  raising  revenue  de- 
moralized public  conscience  and  became  a  menace 
to  the  nation.  In  view  of  these  conditions,  Congress 
was  morally  bound  to  exercise  its  power  to  forbid 
the  use  of  the  United  States  mail  and  the  interstate 
transportation  facilities  to  promote  lottery  schemes. 
The  cry  of  State  rights  and  local  self-government  by 
those  interested  in  lotteries  was  of  no  avail  in  the 
face  of  the  plain  moral  responsibility  of  the  national 
law-givers. 

Questions  of  health  and  morals  are  likewise  of 
paramount  importance  to  each  commonwealth  when 
applying  the  principles  of  local  self-government  to 
some  subdivisions  within  its  territory.  The  legal 
powers  and  charters  granted  to  counties,  municipal- 
ities, towns,  and  boroughs  emanate  from  the  Legis- 
lature. State  powers  are  granted  in  trust  to  each  of 
these  subdivisions  as  agents  of  the  commonwealth, 
and  as  such  they  are  subordinate  to  its  interests  and 
authority.  The  Legislature,  as  a  representative  body, 
is  constitutionally  and  morally  bound  to  enact  laws 
to  protect  society  from  harm.  It  exercises  the  right 
to  legislate  on  all  questions  of  health  and  morals, 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  131 

because  they  concern  the  well-being  of  society  as  a 
whole.  The  local  self-government  is  limited,  not  as 
an  act  of  paternalism  on  the  part  of  a  narrow  and 
bigoted  class  in  the  Legislature  who  wish  to  impose 
their  ethical  standards  upon  an  unwilling  minority, 
but  because  such  action  is  solely  in  behalf  of  the 
common  weal. 

Citizens  of  any  commonwealth  throughout  the 
Union  are  vitally  related  and  concerned  in  the  health, 
morals,  and  well-being  of  the  people  within  its  bound- 
aries. Moral  evils,  like  contagious  diseases,  soon  af- 
fect the  entire  body  politic.  If  the  vicious  element 
in  any  locality  should  outnumber  the  citizens  of  bet- 
ter moral  sentiments,  and,  further,  if  they  should  by 
a  majority  vote  attempt  to  establish  an  evil  or  to 
perpetrate  a  wrong  which  would  be  a  menace  to  the 
common  good,  then  it  becomes  the  plain  duty  of  the 
Legislature  to  prevent  it.  Such  restraining  meas- 
ures do  not  infringe  upon  personal  liberty  nor  mil- 
itate against  the  principles  of  local  self-government, 
but  tend  rather  to  conserve  the  rights  and  well- 
being  of  society,  in  which  all  citizens  may  share 
alike.  Those  who  work  for  advanced  legislation  do 
not  necessarily  impose  the  standard  of  a  class  as  the 
law  of  a  community.  They  seek  simply  to  embody 
into  law  the  eternal  principles  of  righteousness,  by 
which  society  is  governed,  and  which  is  antecedent 
to  all  statutory  measures.  Social  progress  has  won 
its  greatest  triumphs  by  a  few  heroic  souls  working 
through  legislative  measures  for  social  welfare,  and 
leading  the  people  to  higher  planes  of  self-realization. 


132  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

The  foregoing  ethical  principles  and  ideals  ap- 
plied to  the  saloon  system  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the 
course  our  legislators  should  pursue.  The  saloon  is 
such  a  menace  to  society  that  it  is  incumbent  upon 
the  legislative  bodies  to  abolish  it.  The  moral  char- 
acter of  the  saloon,  as  a  social  institution,  has  been 
established  very  clearly.  Facts,  reason,  conscience, 
and  the  civil  courts  all  unite  in  regarding  it  as  essen- 
tially immoral,  on  the  ground  that  it  satisfies  no 
legitimate  want,  but  panders  to  a  perverted  sense 
and  so  becomes  an  offence  against  morality  and 
the  welfare  of  society.  Hence  the  liquor  traffic  for 
beverage  purposes  cannot  be  licensed  without  sin, 
and  every  consideration  demands  its  prohibition. 

The  legal  status  of  the  saloon  has  been  fixed  by 
the  highest  court  of  the  land.  The  fullest  moral  and 
constitutional  warrant  for  the  abolition  of  the  sa- 
loon is  found  in  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
It  declares,  "There  is  no  inherent  right  in  a  citizen 
to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  by  retail;  it  is  not  a  priv- 
ilege of  a  citizen  of  a  State,  nor  of  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States."  And  the  same  court  goes  on  to  say: 
"By  the  general  concurrence  of  opinion  of  every 
civilized  and  Christian  community,  there  are  few 
sources  of  crime  and  misery  equal  to  the  dramshop, 
where  intoxicating  liquors,  in  small  quantities  to  be 
drunk  at  the  time,  are  sold  indiscriminately  to  all 
parties  applying."  Again,  in  clear  and  forcible  lan- 
guage it  declares:  "We  cannot  shut  out  of  view  the 
fact,  established  by  statistics  accessible  to  every  one, 
that  the  idleness,  disorder,  pauperism,  and  crime 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  133 

existing  in  this  country,  in  some  degree  at  least,  are 
traceable  to  the  evil.  That  legislation  by  a  State 
prohibiting  the  manufacture  within  her  limits  of  in- 
toxicating liquors,  to  be  sold  or  bartered  for  gen- 
eral use  as  a  beverage,  does  not  necessarily  infringe 
any  right,  privilege,  or  immunity  secured  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  is  made  clear  by  the 
decisions  of  this  court  rendered  before  and  after 
the  adoption  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment."  In 
view  of  all  these  facts,  the  same  court  says:  "The 
State  has  the  right  to  regulate,  restrain,  or  prohibit 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  for 
beverage  purposes."  In  pursuance  of  this  constitu- 
tional and  legal  right,  the  citizens  of  any  State  may 
pass  laws  providing  for  prohibition  by  local  option 
or  otherwise.  Legislative  enactments  against  the  sa- 
loon are  not  questions  of  practical  judgment  or  ex- 
pediency left  to  individual  caprice,  but  they  involve 
moral  principles  of  general  application  that  cannot 
be  evaded  by  legislators  without  being  culpable  of 
shirking  moral  responsibility. 

The  function  of  government  is  not  to  legislate 
against  an  act  because  it  is  sinful  in  itself.  The 
question  of  right  or  wrong  per  se  involved  in  the  act 
of  gambling,  the  drink  habit,  liquor-seiling,  or  Sun- 
day desecration  is  no  more  considered  in  legislative 
enactments  than  the  acts  of  keeping  gunpowder,  or 
a  tannery,  or  a  slaughter-house.  The  whole  ques- 
tion turns  upon  the  fundamental  moral  principle 
whether  their  existence  is  a  social  menace,  and  in 
violation  of  protective  legislation.  Neither  does  the 


134  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Legislature  aim  to  prescribe  the  details  of  virtuous 
conduct,  nor  to  make  men  good  by  law;  but  rather, 
by  prohibitory  acts,  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
good  order  in  society.  It  aims  to  protect  the  public 
morals  against  the  evil  consequences  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  For  example,  the  sale  of  obscene  literature 
is  condemned  by  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  ground 
that  it  tends  to  deprave  the  minds  of  those  open  to 
such  influences.  The  saloon  likewise  is  condemned 
because  it  tends  to  invade  the  rights  of  the  weak  and 
innocent  and  to  corrupt  the  morals  of  the  community. 
Again,  legislative  bodies  do  not  attempt  to  banish 
all  intoxicating  liquors,  but  rather  to  legislate  their 
sale  only  for  medicinal  and  scientific  uses.  Neither 
do  they  declare  that  it  is  legally  wrong  to  drink  in- 
toxicating liquors,  but  they  say  emphatically  that 
it  is  wrong  to  traffic  in  them  for  beverage  purposes. 
These  civic  demands  do  not  encroach  upon  personal 
liberty.  The  saloon  has  no  more  legal  right  to  live 
than  the  lottery,  brothel,  or  gambling-den.  All  these 
evils  infringe  upon  the  rights  of  others ;  consequently, 
it  is  incumbent  upon  Congress  and  the  several  Leg- 
islatures to  prohibit  them. 

The  principle  of  prohibitory  legislation  having 
been  considered,  the  question  arises  as  to  how  to 
apply  the  same  to  the  actual  conditions  of  society. 
The  more  common  legislative  methods  of  dealing 
with  the  saloon  have  been  by  high  license,  the  dis- 
pensary system,  and  local  option. 

The  advocates  of  tax  or  high  license  assert  that 
the  saloon  is  a  necessary  social  evil,  and  that  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  135 

most  effective  way  to  deal  with  it  is  to  tax  the  busi- 
ness and  make  it  help  to  bear  the  burden  it  imposes 
upon  the  community.  The  futility  of  this  method 
has  abundant  proofs.  Wherever  high  license  has 
been  tried  it  has  increased  the  cost  of  regulating 
crime,  the  care  of  paupers,  prisons,  and  the  police 
force,  and  has  signally  failed  to  lessen  the  taxes.  Be- 
sides, the  money  paid  for  such  license  enables  the 
traffic  to  become  financially  intrenched  in  society 
and  it  paralyzes  public  conscience,  and  even  leads 
some  good  people  to  apologize  for  the  liquor  traffic, 
and  thus  retards  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Fur- 
thermore, any  legal  sanction  of  the  saloon  throws 
a  semblance  of  respectability  about  a  traffic  that  is 
"the  prolific  mother  of  crime,  pauperism,  ruined 
health,  and  blasted  souls."  Another  reason  often 
presented  by  the  ultra-conservatives  is  that  high 
license  will  close  up  all  the  low  dives.  The  reason 
given  is  that  those  who  pay  the  high  license  will 
obey  the  law  and  help  make  the  saloon  safe  and  re- 
spectable. Experience,  however,  has  shown  that 
the  higher  the  license  the  greater  the  violation  of 
the  law  likely  to  be  permitted  by  the  local  officials. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  many  of  our  cities 
the  saloon,  by  means  of  graft  and  otherwise,  is  per- 
mitted to  sell  intoxicants  to  minors  and  drunkards, 
and  is  open  all  night  as  well  as  on  Sunday  in  defi- 
ance of  law. 

High  license  is  strongly  advocated  by  the  saloon 
forces.  Here  is  a  sample  of  their  attitude:  J.  M. 
Atherton,  ex-president  of  the  National  Protective 


136          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Association,  one  of  the  foremost  organizations  of 
distillers  and  wholesale  liquor-dealers,  says:  "The 
true  policy  of  the  liquor  trade  to  pursue  is  to  advo- 
cate as  high  license  as  they  can,  in  justice  to  them- 
selves, afford  to  pay.  This  catches  the  ordinary 
tax-payer,  who  cares  less  for  the  sentimental  oppo- 
sition to  our  business  than  he  does  for  taxes  upon 
his  own  property."  The  liquor  organ,  The  Bar, 
says:  "A  good  high  license  to  help  pay  their  taxes 
will  pacify  their  conscience;  nothing  else  will."  It 
is  evident  that  the  saloon-keepers  set  their  egoistic 
aims  above  the  general  good.  Aside  from  anything 
that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  high  license,  the  Legis- 
lature has  no  more  moral  and  constitutional  right 
to  barter  away  the  public  morals  by  licensing  the 
saloon  than  it  has  to  license  the  gambling-house, 
the  brothel,  or  the  opium-den.  It  is  just  as  reason- 
able to  permit  some  men  to  breed  contagious  dis- 
ease-germs as  to  run  a  saloon  for  revenue.  If  the 
principle  of  license  is  carried  out  to  its  logical  se- 
quence all  forms  of  social  evil  may  be  licensed,  and 
thus  inflict  injury  upon  the  community.  Those  who 
take  time  to  investigate  and  get  at  the  facts  are  not 
deluded  by  the  sophistry  of  high-license  advocates. 
The  specious  arguments,  allegations,  and  falsehoods 
put  forward  to  show  the  beneficial  results  of  high 
license  are  a  travesty  upon  political  science  and 
morality,  as  well  as  a  clever  device  to  deceive  and  de- 
coy conscientious  people  and  lead  them  to  tolerate 
this  glaring  evil. 

The  State  Dispensary  System  has  likewise  failed 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  137 

as  a  remedy  for  the  saloon.  The  State  that  traffics 
in  intoxicants  for  beverage  uses  fosters  the  drink 
habit,  which  tends  to  degrade  its  citizens  and  to  en- 
courage social  disorders.  The  State  should  author- 
ize the  sale  of  liquors  for  legitimate  uses,  but  in  no 
case  for  beverage  purposes  through  the  agency  of 
a  dispensary. 

The  principle  of  State  prohibition  by  legislative 
action  is  correct  in  theory,  but  the  method  of  applying 
the  same  to  existing  conditions  has  met  with  varying 
degrees  of  success.  The  principle  itself  is  the  ulti- 
mate goal  of  all  worthy  efforts  in  anti-saloon  move- 
ments. There  is,  however,  a  vast  difference  between 
the  hypothetical  and  the  actual.  The  former  is  help- 
ful in  keeping  our  ideals  clear  and  strong,  but  it  is 
sometimes  difficult  to  apply  it  to  existing  conditions. 
The  academic  logic  and  argument  for  immediate 
state  and  national  prohibition  is  unanswerable;  but 
in  practice  its  friends  are  confronted  with  actual 
social  conditions  that  for  the  time  being  are  almost 
insuperable.  The  morality  of  the  prohibitory  prin- 
ciple does  not  necessarily  imply  that  it  would  be  a 
moral  act  to  embody  it  into  law.  The  morality  of 
this  action  depends  upon  the  moral  support  guar- 
anteed to  sustain  the  law  when  enacted.  Some  men 
believe  they  are  justified  in  refusing  to  vote  for  rad- 
ical measures  against  the  saloon  because  the  avail- 
able and  workable  force  to  secure  these  reforms  is 
lacking.  The  ultra-radicals  who  advocate  extreme 
methods  of  social  betterment  by  legal  enactments  do 
not  always  take  into  account  the  nature  of  things. 


138  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

The  abstract  principle  may  be  clear  and  convincing, 
but  its  concrete  application  is  no  easy  task.  It  is  all 
the  more  difficult  of  practical  application  because 
men  are- not  all  on  the  same  plane  of  moral  sentiment. 
This  fact,  together  with  our  heterogeneous  popula- 
tion and  our  complex  and  varying  social  condition, 
renders  it  almost  impracticable  in  many  States  as  a 
speedy  remedy  for  the  saloon. 

Local  option  is  a  legal  provision  for  local  prohibi- 
tion. Each  commonwealth  may  allow  some  subdi- 
vision of  its  territory,  such  as  the  county,  town, 
borough,  municipality,  ward,  or  election  district,  to 
decide  for  or  against  the  saloon.  The  Legislature 
may  authorize  a  part  of  the  people  to  vote  for  local 
prohibition  before  the  whole  commonwealth  has 
chosen  to  go  so  far.  This  method  is  an  essentially 
democratic  solution  of  the  problem.  It  is  a  means  to 
hasten  the  day  of  complete  State  prohibition,  as  well 
as  to  bring  about  better  conditions  at  present.  Each 
community,  if  it  can  secure  a  majority  of  votes,  can 
apply  the  most  rigorous  form  of  local  veto.  Bear  in 
mind  that  local-option  laws  do  not  plan  to  make  the 
beverage-liquor  traffic,  which  is  morally  wrong,  legally 
right  by  popular  choice.  They  simply  provide  that 
some  people  may  prohibit  the  saloon  whenever  they 
choose  to  use  their  power.  The  Legislature,  how- 
ever, when  referring  the  question  of  saloon  or  no 
saloon  to  the  people  to  decide,  does  not  abrogate 
any  of  its  moral  or  constitutional  rights  to  prohibit 
the  saloon  at  any  time,  even  though  the  majority  in 
certain  communities  is  in  favor  of  it.  The  whole 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  139 

commonwealth  is  bound  together  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  Legislature  should  not  permit  an  innocent 
minority  of  any  locality  within  its  territory  to  suffer 
the  consequences  of  wrong  social  action  made  possi- 
ble by  a  bare  majority  of  citizens  of  doubtful  moral 
sentiments.  The  Legislature  is  morally  bound  to 
prevent  as  far  as  possible  organized  iniquity,  insti- 
tuted temporarily  by  majorities,  from  working  an 
injustice  to  a  minority  of  the  law-abiding  citizens. 
In  view  of  the  complex  conditions  of  society,  and 
the  low  moral  sentiments  sometimes  prevailing  in 
certain  communities,  local  option  has  proven  to  be 
the  best  available  method  of  dealing  with  the  saloon. 
At  present  the  majority  of  the  States  of  the  Union 
have  local-option  laws.  One  advantage  is  evident: 
it  gives  the  people  a  fighting  chance  against  the  sa- 
loon. A  tremendous  power  for  good  is  gained  when 
the  evils  of  the  saloon  can  be  kept  in  the  open,  and 
at  each  election  good  citizens  can  battle  strenuously 
against  it.  If  the  principle  of  local  self-government 
on  this  question  is  adopted  by  the  Legislatures,  it 
should  have  the  widest  possible  application.  It  is 
hardly  fair  to  give  home  rule  to  the  rural  popula- 
tion and  not  to  give  each  ward  of  our  cities  an  equally 
effective  opportunity  for  voting  for  or  against  grant- 
ing license  to  the  saloon.  The  residential  sections 
of  the  cities  have  no  other  means  of  protecting  them- 
selves against  the  incursions  of  the  saloon.  The 
strenuous  efforts  of  law-abiding  citizens  against  the 
depreciation  of  property  and  the  demoralization  of 
society  occasioned  by  the  saloon  ought  to  be  re- 


140  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

spected.  Legislators  should  not  hesitate  to  enact 
local-option  laws,  if  for  no  other  than  prudential 
reasons.  They  may  vote  favorably  for  local-option 
methods  without  expressing  the  local  merits  of  the 
saloon.  If  the  people  are  denied  the  privilege  of  ex- 
pressing locally  their  preference  regarding  this  vital 
question  it  stultifies  their  rights.  Legislators  who  re- 
fuse to  grant  this  right  consent  to  the  existing  con- 
ditions, and  become  the  champions  and  protectors 
of  the  saloon  against  the  popular  will. 

The  successful  application  of  any  of  the  forego- 
ing principles  and  methods  is  largely  in  the  hands 
of  Christian  people.  The  Church  has  a  vital  rela- 
tion with  all  social  and  civic  affairs.  Its  regal  pre- 
rogative is  to  be  active  in  conserving  for  each  one 
the  rights  and  privileges  that  are  in  harmony  with 
social  order  and  civic  patriotism.  The  Church  dis- 
claims any  desire  to  have  an  organic  alliance  with  a 
political  party  as  such,  yet  the  several  denomina- 
tions should  unite  and  maintain  a  joint  agency  to 
represent  them  in  all  legislative  matters  relating  to 
public  morals.  Politics  when  thus  divorced  from 
partizan  entanglement  and  demagoguery  is  plainly 
within  the  appropriate  sphere  of  the  Church.  It  is 
necessary  for  any  sustained  movement  against  the 
saloon  to  have  such  a  medium,  through  which  the 
Church  can  express  its  convictions  along  legislative 
lines.  The  aim  should  be,  first,  to  retain  all  good 
anti-saloon  laws;  and,  second,  to  oppose  and  defeat 
all  pending  legislation  that  favors  the  liquor  traffic; 
and,  lastly,  to  secure  whatever  other  laws  are  needed 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  141 

for  effective  work  against  the  saloon.  The  time  has 
come  for  Christian  people  to  apply  the  moral  law 
in  the  political  realm.  Laws  that  conserve  rights 
and  protect  the  home  are  best  secured  by  good  cit- 
izens getting  control  of  the  political  machinery 
of  their  respective  parties  and  using  it  for  social  re- 
generation and  progress.  Social  well-being  will  be 
promoted  through  the  co-equal  sovereignty  of  each 
citizen  working  for  civic  righteousness.  Conse- 
quently, indifference  to  political  obligations  and  to 
the  exercise  of  the  right  of  franchise  is  reprehensi- 
ble. It  is  becoming  more  and  more  apparent  that 
Christian  people  must  demonstrate  their  power  in 
civic  affairs  before  they  will  be  an  important  con- 
trolling influence  for  civic  righteousness. 

The  representatives  of  the  saloon  system  have 
not  been  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  political  power 
to  further  their  interests.  They  make  their  plans 
months  in  advance,  and  have  their  candidates  for 
office  pledged  to  support  their  cause  before  they 
are  nominated.  These  men  should  not  be  allowed 
to  browbeat  and  outwit  the  timid  endeavors  of  good 
citizens  to  curb  their  power.  The  secret  of  success 
in  political  affairs  is  to  put  up  a  fight  at  the  nom- 
inating convention  rather  than  at  the  polls.  If  the 
standard  of  political  morality  is  to  measure  up  to 
the  gospel  teachings,  Christian  men  and  all  lovers 
of  sobriety  should  become  aroused  to  the  necessity 
of  attending  political  primaries  and  the  nominating 
conventions  of  their  respective  political  parties,  and 
in  these  political  gatherings  preempt  the  ground  by 


142  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

their  presence  and  influence  so  that  worthy  citizens 
may  be  put  in  nomination,  who  will  not  take  orders 
on  moral  questions  from  State  politicians  that  are 
more  or  less  subservient  to  the  liquor  interests. 

A  citizen's  influence  for  civic  virtue  is  multiplied 
many-fold  when  he  concentrates  his  energy  at  the 
nominating  convention.  Those  who  help  to  defeat 
the  unworthy  candidate  and  to  elevate  the  good  one 
may  pray  a  little  more  fervently  "Thy  kingdom 
come,"  and  perhaps  experience  something  of  the 
truthfulness  of  President  Roosevelt's  statement  that 
"  aggressive  fighting  for  the  right  is  the  greatest  sport 
the  world  knows."  Good  citizens  are  entrusted  with 
the  responsibility  of  turning  down  bad  men  in  pub- 
lic life,  and  by  their  support  and  encouragement 
make  it  easy  for  the  worthy  public  official  to  succeed. 
This  destructive  and  constructive  power,  exercised 
by  Christian  men  throughout  our  land,  would  soon 
inaugurate  a  reign  of  civic  rectitude  among  public 
officials.  We  cite  a  typical  precedent  as  to  how  this 
method  works.  In  Ohio,  "out  of  sixty-seven  mem- 
bers in  both  houses  who  voted  against  the  Clark 
Bill  in  1900,  only  fifteen  were  returned  to  the  Leg- 
islature of  1902,  which  passed  the  Beal  Bill  by  a 
vote  of  eighty-two  to  sixteen  in  the  House,  and  unan- 
imously in  the  Senate,  and  in  about  sixteen  months 
one  hundred  and  thirty  municipalities  had  voted 
out  about  three  miles  solid  front  of  saloons."  The 
people  of  Ohio  secured  this  fighting  chance  against 
the  saloon  after  a  long  struggle,  in  which  more  than 
seventy  politicians  were  sent  to  their  political  graves. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  143 

Men  of  bad  repute  should  be  opposed,  regardless 
of  party.  A  Republican  may  be  opposed  in  one  dis- 
trict and  a  Democrat  in  another,  but  a  State-wide 
movement  of  this  kind  would  not  materially  affect 
party  results.  It  should  be  made  possible  for  each 
person  to  retain  his  party  affiliation  and  at  the  same 
time  line  up  with  others  on  moral  issues  irrespective 
of  party  politics.  The  first  demand  is  to  be  American 
citizens,  and  then  partizans.  The  saloon-keepers 
should  not  be  permitted  to  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  right  to  say  who  should  go  to  the  Legislature 
and  what  the  representatives  shall  do  in  the  way 
of  protecting  their  traffic.  They  have  too  long  boasted 
of  their  heart's  desire  and  spread  themselves  like  a 
green  bay-tree  in  our  legislative  halls.  The  time  has 
come  for  Christian  citizens  by  their  number  and 
influence  to  offset  the  saloon  boycott  and  no  longer 
submit  to  saloon-domination  in  political  affairs.  The 
moral  forces  hold  the  elective  balance  of  power  when- 
ever they  choose  to  exercise  it. 

The  social  conscience  regarding  the  saloon  should 
assume  a  binding  form  in  legislative  enactment. 
Experience  justifies  the  statement  that  laws  regard- 
ing morals  will  find  support  and  create  a  morality 
of  their  own  even  when  they  pass  beyond  the  sphere 
of  common  morality.  However,  advanced  legisla- 
tion on  moral  questions  should  go  no  faster  than 
public  opinion  will  justify  in  order  to  make  the  laws 
effective.  Judgment  regarding  public  sentiment  on 
this  question  is  not  to  be  limited  to  any  locality, 
but  should  have  a  State-wide  application.  As  a  rule, 


144  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

legislation  in  this  country  has  not  kept  pace  with 
anti -saloon  sentiment.  The  non-enforcement  of  the 
liquor  laws  in  certain  cities  and  towns  is  merely  in- 
cidental, and  is  no  argument  against  progressive 
legislation  looking  to  the  ultimate  suppression  of 
the  saloon  within  the  confines  of  the  State.  Let  it 
be  borne  in  mind  that  our  laws  are  not  enacted  by 
our  legislators  alone.  The  representatives  are  chosen 
to  go  to  legislative  halls  to  complete  the  laws 
which  had  their  beginning  back  in  each  voting  pre- 
cinct, where  public  sentiment  is  made.  Reform 
measures  generally  begin  with  the  lowest  political 
unit,  where  the  roots  of  society  are  touched,  and 
gradually  work  upward  and  become  party  issues. 

A  bill  drafted  for  presentation  to  the  Legislature 
should  be  drawn  with  great  care.  It  should  be  fair 
in  application,  definite  in  language,  lucid  in  expres- 
sion, and  plainly  within  purview  of  the  legislative 
authority.  Otherwise  the  courts  may  construe  it  in 
a  way  unfavorable  to  the  aim  which  it  seeks  to  serve. 
A  concensus  of  legal  opinion  and  advice  as  to  the 
wisdom  and  constitutionality  of  the  proposed  law  is 
an  important  precautionary  measure.  Statutory  laws 
to  be  effective  should  have  continuity  and  a  State- 
wide application.  It  is  also  well  to  observe  that  there 
must  be  some  remedy  to  match  the  schemes  of  the 
illegal  seller  of  intoxicants.  The  customary  penal- 
ties for  the  violation  of  law  should  be  supplemented 
by  some  form  of  search-warrant  measure  that  gives 
officers  increased  opportunity  in  dealing  with  those 
who  seek  to  evade  the  law.  The  secret  of  success  in 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  145 

putting  up  a  fight  in  the  Legislature  is  for  the  anti- 
saloon  forces  to  be  thoroughly  prepared  for  it.  It 
is  important  to  plan  and  work  for  months  prior  to 
the  convening  of  the  Legislature.  The  best  work  is 
done  back  in  the  districts  from  which  the  several 
representatives  are  chosen.  Effort  should  be  con- 
centrated on  strategic  centres  where  candidates  for 
the  Legislature  are  known  to  be  friendly  to  saloon 
interests,  or  where  they  are  doubtful  as  to  their  atti- 
tude upon  the  anti-saloon  issue.  If  such  methods 
are  wisely  and  prudently  followed  up,  the  good  cit- 
izens can  practically  control  the  Legislature  in  be- 
half of  wise  legislative  action  against  the  saloon.  The 
records,  as  well  as  experience,  show  that  the  oppo- 
sition is  skilful  in  diplomacy,  unscrupulous  in  the 
use  of  money,  and  sometimes  is  greatly  strengthened 
by  having  some  patronage  at  its  command.  These 
conditions  must  be  taken  into  account  in  conducting 
a  successful  warfare  against  the  workers  of  social 
iniquity.  The  saloon  will  not  be  dethroned  in  pol- 
itics until  good  citizens  divorce  partizanship  from 
moral  issues  and  unite  to  promote  by  means  of  po- 
litical preferment  the  friends  of  moral  legislation, 
and  to  punish  its  enemies.  It  is  encouraging  to  note 
that  whenever  it  is  politically  safe  the  average  pol- 
itician prefers  to  do  right  and  to  act  in  harmony 
with  the  best  moral  sentiment  of  his  constituents. 
Reputable  citizens  have  it  in  their  power  to  make  it 
politically  safe  for  any  legislator  to  stand  for  right 
principles  and  to  vote  for  right  measures.  It  is  not 
enough  that  men  deplore  corruption  in  civil  life,  but 


146  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

they  should  also  fight  honestly  and  intelligently  for 
more  wholesome  political  conditions. 

After  a  legislative  battle  for  saloon  suppression 
the  forces  of  righteousness  should  not  disintegrate 
and  scatter,  but  double  their  energy  to  become  more 
closely  cemented  and  aggressive  in  order  to  become 
a  powerful  and  permanent  force  with  which  politi- 
cians must  reckon.  This  legislative  campaign  in 
behalf  of  morals,  to  be  permanent  and  effective, 
demands  experienced  and  skilful  leadership.  The 
only  hope  of  success  is  for  the  federated  churches  to 
maintain  a  joint  agency  whereby  its  leaders  can  co- 
ordinate and  concentrate  the  moral  forces  at  a  given 
point  to  secure  favorable  results.  If  Christ  and  his 
teachings  are  not  embodied  in  political  affairs  it  will 
be  because  Christian  people  do  not  carry  him  into 
the  places  of  political  power  and  influence. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  147 

CHAPTER  IX 
ENFORCEMENT   MADE   EFFECTIVE 

There  is  even  now  something  of  ill  omen  among  us;  I  mean  the 
disregard  for  law.  Here,  then,  is  one  point  at  which  danger  may  be 
expected.  The  question  seems:  How  shall  we  fortify  against  it? 
The  answer  is  simple.  Let  every  American,  every  lover  of  liberty, 
every  well-wisher  to  his  posterity,  swear  by  the  blood  of  the  Rev- 
olution never  to  violate  in  the  least  particular  the  laws  of  his  coun- 
try, and  never  to  tolerate  their  violation  by  others. —  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

People  can  find  a  remedy  for  all  the  evils  from  which  they  suffer 
in  the  enforcement  of  the  law.  Enforcement  of  the  law  can  cure 
every  governmental  wrong.  The  people  reign  through  the  laws 
which  they  make  for  themselves,  and  when  these  laws  are  faith- 
fully executed  the  reign  of  the  people  is  absolute.  When  these 
laws  are  nullified  by  officials  the  people  do  not  rule.  —  JOSEPH 
W.  FOLK. 

SOCIAL  control  by  governmental  authority 
emanates  from  the  people  possessing  moral 
attributes.  Law  is  an  edict  of  authority 
which  is  based  upon  man's  moral  nature.  It  is  born 
of  personal  convictions.  This  does  not  imply,  how- 
ever, that  laws  and  morals  are  coincident,  but  that 
society  within  its  sphere  may  coerce  the  individual 
to  obey  law  as  a  necessary  condition  of  men  living 
together  in  moral  relations.  It  is  no  infraction  of 
personal  liberty  to  require  obedience  to  law  as  essen- 
tial to  social  order  and  well-being.  Law  is  the  guard- 
ian of  the  personal  and  property  rights  of  every  indi- 
vidual. Consequently,  laws  should  be  observed  and 
enforced,  not  in  the  interests  of  the  violators  of  the 
law,  but  rather  in  behalf  of  the  law-abiding  citizens. 


148  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

The  growing  disrespect  for  law  is  fraught  with 
danger  both  to  civil  and  property  rights.  Patriotic 
citizens  look  with  alarm  upon  all  lawlessness.  His- 
tory is  replete  with  conspicuous  examples  of  how  a 
disregard  for  law  gradually  permeated  the  minds  of 
some  nations  until  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  swept 
them  into  anarchy,  bloodshed,  and  ruin.  The  en- 
forcement of  laws  regulating  or  prohibiting  the 
liquor  traffic  is  one  of  supreme  importance.  Legal 
enactments  against  the  saloon  are  based  upon  the 
fact  that  they  are  inimical  to  the  general  welfare 
of  society.  Anti-saloon  legislation,  then,  has  a  vital 
relation  to  the  best  interests  of  the  citizens.  In  view 
of  this  fact,  the  Church  as  a  living  power  for  civic 
righteousness,  as  well  as  the  law-abiding  citizens,  are 
interested  in  having  these  laws  wisely  enacted  and 
faithfully  enforced. 

One  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  enforcing  some 
of  the  existing  laws  regarding  the  liquor  traffic  arises 
from  their  defective  construction.  Many  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature  who  help  to  enact  statutory 
laws  have  no  comprehensive  insight  and  familiarity 
with  the  deeper  general  principles  of  judicial  law.  As 
a  result  many  of  the  laws  are  ill-considered  and  fault- 
ily constructed.  This  has  been  true,  especially,  of 
anti-saloon  legislation.  Laws  drafted  to  repress  or 
prohibit  the  saloon  should  be  carefully  prepared  and 
put  in  an  enforceable  shape.  Frequently  when  a 
practical  and  efficient  anti-saloon  bill  has  been 
brought  before  the  Legislature,  the  opposition,  with 
the  aid  of  astute  and  wily  attorneys,  will  introduce  an 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  149 

amendment  which  on  the  surface  appears  plausible, 
but  should  it  be  adopted  it  would  take  the  teeth  out 
of  the  proposed  law,  and  render  it  ineffective  or  diffi- 
cult to  enforce.  The  liquor-dealers  aim  to  provide 
that  there  shall  be  some  loophole  in  the  construction 
of  statutory  liquor  laws  so  that  offenders  may  escape 
the  just  penalty  of  violation.  In  framing  the  law  pro- 
vision should  be  made,  whenever  possible,  so  that  it 
can  be  enforced  by  a  magistrate  for  the  first  and 
second  offence  without  a  jury.  When  the  penalty 
has  been  inflicted  once  or  twice  by  a  magistrate  and 
it  fails  to  stop  the  violation,  a  jury  is  more  inclined 
to  convict.  The  Constitution  provides  that  no  man 
shall  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  without  being  tried  by 
a  jury  of  his  peers;  consequently,  when  an  imprison- 
ment penalty  is  attached  to  the  law  the  defendant  has 
a  right  to  demand  a  trial  by  jury.  In  many  cases, 
however,  a  heavy  fine  imposed  by  a  magistrate  will 
be  as  effectual  as  an  imprisonment  clause  subject  to 
a  trial  by  jury.  This  procedure  will  obviate  much 
difficulty  and  often  prevent  vexatious  delays  and 
costs. 

Another  difficulty  arises  from  failing  to  secure 
honest  officials  to  enforce  the  laws.  The  enforcement 
of  law  rests  primarily  upon  the  executive  officers.  It 
is  not  uncommon,  however,  for  public  officials  who 
are  supposed  to  combine  honesty,  efficiency,  and  re- 
sponsibility to  connive  with  the  violators  of  law,  or 
to  be  so  threatened  and  cajoled  by  them  that  they 
will  restrict  their  efforts  to  perform  their  duty.  There 
is  a  growing  public  demand  for  officers  who  will  en- 


150  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

force  the  laws  impartially.  Some  of  the  officials 
whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  enforce  law  assume  the  legis- 
lative, judicial,  and  executive  functions  of  govern- 
ment and  often  nullify  laws  at  their  option.  The  ex- 
ecutive officers  have  no  choice  whether  they  shall  en- 
force some  laws  and  ignore  others.  Otherwise  they 
will  shield  one  class  and  punish  another  class  of 
criminals.  The  paid  officers  who  have  sworn  before 
God  and  their  fellow  citizens  to  perform  faithfully 
their  duties  and  to  enforce  all  the  laws  and  ordinances 
have  no  alternative  but  to  obey  in  a  most  fearless 
manner  the  official  requirements.  The  officer  who 
finds  that  he  cannot  perform  his  duty  in  compliance 
with  his  oath  of  office,  and  yet  wishes  to  take  an  honest 
course,  should  resign  his  public  position  and  let  some 
more  efficient  person  occupy  the  place  of  authority. 
Unless  the  laws  are  strictly  and  impartially  enforced 
they  fail  to  command  respect.  Those  who  violate  the 
law  as  well  as  those  who  wink  at  the  violation  of  the 
law  invite  anarchy. 

The  plea  that  the  liquor  laws  are  unenforceable  in 
certain  cities  is  often  dictated  by  policy  or  indiffer- 
ence. In  some  instances  it  shows  a  moral  obliquity 
that  is  reprehensible.  Comparatively  few  officers  are 
hampered  by  the  laws  they  are  expected  to  enforce. 
They  certainly  understand  the  conditions  before  ta- 
king the  oath  to  enforce  the  laws.  They  could  refuse 
to  serve  in  a  position  where  it  is  impossible  to  per- 
form duty.  The  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  city  of 
New  York  recently  expressed  his  opinion,  as  well  as 
that  of  many  well-meaning  citizens,  that  the  excise 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  151 

law  could  not  be  enforced  because  there  were  more 
than  7,000  saloons  open  on  Sunday  in  New  York 
City  alone  in  defiance  of  law.  One  of  the  chief  rea- 
sons assigned  for  non-enforcement  was  that  the  mo- 
ment a  reform  administration  tries  to  enforce  the  law, 
that  "  moment  it  will  go  out  of  power."  The  question 
naturally  arises  whether  or  not  the  sovereign  will  of 
the  several  million  people  of  the  State  of  New  York 
shall  be  controlled  by  the  small  minority  of  7,000  sa- 
loon-keepers and  their  patrons  of  New  York  City.  An 
honest  administration  that  performs  its  duty  can  well 
afford  to  get  out  of  office  and  remain  out  until  it 
helps  change  the  conditions  whereby  the  law  may  be 
enforced  and  self-respect  maintained.  The  statement 
of  the  prosecuting  attorney  is  more  than  offset  by  the 
expert  testimony  of  one  who  for  several  years  was 
State  Commissioner  of  Excise  of  New  York  State. 
He  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  law  concerning 
the  Sunday  traffic  in  liquors  is  not  enforced  "  because 
of  corruption,  indifference,  and  incompetency  on  the 
part  of  police  and  prosecuting  officers."  "Such  con- 
ditions," he  says,  "cannot  continue  to  exist  any- 
where in  the  State  under  the  present  laws  in  an  honest 
official  atmosphere.  Can  law  be  enforced  ?  From  per- 
sonal experience  during  six  years  as  District  Attorney 
under  the  former  law,  I  unhesitatingly  say,  Yes.  From 
the  success  of  the  Department  of  Excise  in  compel- 
ling the  28,000  liquor-dealers  of  the  State  to  comply 
with  the  law  by  payment  of  the  enormous  tax  of  over 
$12,000,000  annually,  and  from  our  successful  prose- 
cution of  hundreds  of  civil  actions  and  proceedings 


152  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

under  the  law  before  courts  and  juries  alike,  I  say 
most  emphatically  that  the  law  can  be  enforced." 

It  is  admitted  by  many  public  officers  that  a  large 
number  of  the  police  in  our  cities  are  in  league  with 
law-breakers  and  give  them  immunity  from  prosecu- 
tion. Judge  Grant,  for  many  years  connected  with 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Michigan,  says,  "Saloon- 
keepers cannot  openly  violate  the  law  without  the 
connivance  of  the  police.  When  the  police  depart- 
ment of  any  city  in  earnest  instructs  its  officers  to 
enforce  the  law  and  prosecute  every  offender,  there 
will  be  no  difficulty.  Saloon-keepers  will  not  run 
counter  to  the  courts  and  to  the  officers  when  they 
know  that  those  officers  and  judges  will  fearlessly 
perform  their  duties.  I  speak  in  this  regard  from 
experience."  The  moral  tone  of  public  officers  will 
be  greatly  improved  when  the  governors  of  the  sev- 
eral States  exercise  their  prerogative  to  depose  any 
unworthy  officer  for  malfeasance  in  office. 

The  executive  officer  who  aims  to  enforce  the 
laws  faithfully  and  impartially  appeals  to  the  sense 
of  justice  common  to  all  men.  Even  law-breakers 
will  respect  such  an  officer.  The  faithful  perform- 
ance of  duty  may  not  always  ensure  a  reelection  of 
the  officer,  but  it  will  awaken  respect  among  the  bet- 
ter classes  of  citizens.  A  weak,  partial,  and  vacil- 
lating policy  of  enforcement  of  law  is  likely  to 
arouse  the  opposition  of  both  friend  and  foe.  Such 
an  administration  merits  overthrow  at  the  succeed- 
ing election. 

Another  obstacle  in  the  way  of  securing  convic- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  153 

tion  grows  out  of  the  power  of  the  courts  to  construe 
the  liquor  statutes.  The  court  exists  to  correct  mis- 
takes and  to  determine  the  constitutionality  of  leg- 
islative measures.  Judicial  law  defines  the  rights 
and  duties  laid  down  and  prescribed  by  the  courts. 
The  Supreme  Court  holds  that  the  State  has  the 
right  to  prohibit  the  liquor  traffic.  The  several 
States  have  not  hesitated  to  use  their  power  to  re- 
press or  prohibit  the  saloon.  Sometimes,  however, 
when  an  officer  of  the  State  makes  an  arrest  and  the 
offender  is  brought  before  the  court,  the  judge  may 
be  favorably  or  unfavorably  disposed  to  convict. 
If  he  is  unfriendly  to  the  law,  he  may  find  ways  and 
means  to  circumvent  both  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  law  and  to  permit  the  violator  to  go  unpunished. 
A  few  points  may  be  mentioned  as  to  the  manner 
of  nullifying  the  law. 

The  court  decides  largely  the  method  of  pro- 
cedure and  the  rules  of  evidence  in  trying  a  case. 
The  defendant  in  some  instances  may  appeal  from 
the  lower  to  the  highest  court  and  by  this  means 
ward  off  judgment  for  two  or  three  years.  Where 
appeal  is  taken  to  the  highest  court  the  trial  judge 
has  it  within  his  power  to  demand  a  just  and  satis- 
factory reason  for  filing  a  bill  of  exceptions,  and  if 
so  disposed  may  often  prevent  unnecessary  delay 
by  refusing  to  grant  the  defendant's  appeal.  Again, 
in  some  jurisdictions  the  court  may  or  may  not 
proceed  with  a  case  without  bonds  for  the  cost  of 
prosecution.  Whenever  the  officers,  as  agents  of  the 
government,  take  the  initiative  in  the  case  of  pros- 


154  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

ecution,  then  it  is  clear  the  court  should  make  no 
demand  for  costs. 

The  court  also  must  weigh  evidence  and  see  both 
sides  of  the  question  involved.  The  witness  on  one 
side  may  be  controlled  by  a  strong  moral  purpose 
and  conviction,  and  yet  his  testimony  be  of  little 
value;  while  on  the  other  side  the  testimony  may 
be  given  in  deceit,  vindictiveness,  and  treachery. 
The  court  must  weigh  the  evidence  and  render  a 
decision  according  to  the  character  of  the  testimony 
furnished.  The  judge  who  stands  in  court  day  after 
day  and  faces  criminals  needs  public  sympathy  and 
support.  It  certainly  requires  a  man  of  strong  moral 
qualities  to  perform  faithfully  his  duty  under  these 
trying  conditions.  Good  citizens  should  sustain  the 
judge  by  public  opinion  and  indorsement.  By  this 
method  public  sentiment  will  become  a  strong  factor 
in  the  administration  of  justice. 

Another  difficulty  in  securing  conviction  may 
arise  in  defining  intoxicating  liquors.  Some  drinks 
may  have  no  appreciable  amount  of  alcohol  and 
yet  work  injury.  The  same  stimulant  may  affect 
one  and  not  another.  It  is  within  the  province  of 
the  Legislature  to  define  what  constitutes  intoxica- 
ting liquors.  Any  beverage  containing  alcohol  above 
one  or  two  per  cent  is  regarded  as  an  intoxicant. 
The  position  taken  by  most  authorities  in  defining 
them  is  that  it  is  any  distilled,  malt,  vinous,  or  any 
other  drink  that  intoxicates  in  the  slightest  degree. 
The  justifiable  reason  given  is  that  even  a  small 
quantity  has  a  bad  effect  and  tends  to  create  an  ap- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  155 

petite  for  something  stronger.  The  burden  of  proof, 
however,  is  on  the  venders  of  malt  liquors  to  show 
that  they  are  non-intoxicant. 

One  of  the  chief  difficulties  in  the  way  of  enforc- 
ing the  liquor  laws  arises  from  the  illegal  seller  of 
intoxicants,  who  resorts  to  every  known  device  to 
escape  detection  and  to  conceal  his  lawlessness.  If 
the  repressive  or  prohibitory  laws  are  to  be  effective 
some  statutory  enactments  should  be  made  to  meet 
these  cases.  The  officers  who  are  charged  with  law 
enforcement  should  have  the  power  of  search-war- 
rant in  order  to  ferret  out  the  evil-doers  and  bring 
them  to  trial.  One  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
bringing  these  criminals  to  the  bar  of  justice  is  to 
employ  secret-service  men  of  unquestionable  integ- 
rity to  secure  proper  evidence  against  offenders  of 
the  law.  The  Federal  government  and  public  officials 
in  the  States  are  obliged  to  resort  to  detective  work 
in  order  to  secure  evidence  against  violators  of  law. 
There  is  no  reasonable  ground  for  prejudice  against 
detectives  who  do  honest  service  towards  making 
the  law  effective.  It  is  far  better  to  detect  crime  than 
for  derelict  officers  to  protect  it. 

Patrons  of  the  saloon  almost  invariably  when 
called  into  court  as  witnesses  perjure  themselves  to 
clear  the  saloon-keeper.  Evidence  against  these 
law-breakers  must  be  obtained  as  a  general  thing 
from  those  who  know  the  secret  designs  and  oper- 
ations of  the  saloon  and  are  implicated  in  the  illegal 
sales  of  liquor.  There  is  a  certain  kind  of  evidence 
that  cannot  be  secured  by  any  other  method.  Legal 


156          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

authorities  sanction  and  the  courts  admit  the  evi- 
dence of  detectives  who,  without  any  felonious  in- 
tent, feign  complicity  with  criminals  in  order  to  dis- 
cover and  expose  their  crime.  "  Spotter  evidence,"  if 
honestly  and  conscientiously  secured,  is  justifiable  on 
ethical  grounds.  The  saloon-keeper  is  not  obliged  to 
sell  liquor  on  any  condition,  therefore  he  cannot  jus- 
tify himself  for  selling  illegally  on  the  ground  that  he 
supposed  the  purchaser  was  acting  in  good  faith. 
The  essence  of  the  crime  lies  in  the  intention.  The 
saloon-keeper  who  sells  illegally  acts  with  criminal 
intent,  while  the  detective  is  not  an  accomplice  and 
does  not  actually  violate  the  law,  because  he  is  act- 
ing without  any  such  motive.  The  employment  of 
detectives  should  be  done  by  the  regularly  constituted 
authorities,  or  by  private  citizens  who  wish  to  assist 
them.  An  anti-saloon  league  should  strenuously  insist 
that  it  will  not  employ  detectives  except  as  a  last  re- 
sort, in  order  to  expose  derelict  officials  or  to  show  up 
local  conditions  as  a  means  of  public  agitation.  The 
State  Anti-Saloon  League,  however,  may  recom- 
mend to  local  authorities  detectives  of  good  moral 
character  who  will  secure  the  specific  points  of  evi- 
dence wanted  to  be  used  in  the  courts.  It  is  peril- 
ous, however,  for  the  league  to  assume  any  respon- 
sibility in  the  employment  of  the  services  of  detec- 
tives. 

Inasmuch  as  the  police  power  may  be  used  to 
repress  or  prohibit  the  saloon,  the  State  should  pro- 
vide in  a  large  way  for  the  enforcement  of  its  laws. 
Some  States  have  passed  a  State  Police  Bill  which 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  157 

provides  for  a  special  Board  of  Commissioners  and 
a  set  of  officers  charged  with  the  investigation,  de- 
tection, and  prosecution  of  criminal  offences.  The 
State  police  act  as  special  State  agents  who  are  sup- 
posed to  stand  behind  the  regular  local  officers  and 
render  their  authority  more  efficient.  The  State 
could,  with  advantage,  entrust  the  whole  question 
of  enforcement  of  the  prohibitory  laws  to  a  State 
Board  of  Commissioners  whose  centralized  power 
would  enable  them  to  use  drastic  measures  to  sus- 
tain the  laws  and  to  enforce  the  same  where  local  au- 
thorities refuse  or  neglect  to  use  the  power  lodged 
with  them. 

The  foregoing  obstacles  and  difficulties  that  stand 
in  the  way  of  enforcing  the  liquor  laws  make  more 
emphatic  the  necessity  of  supplementing  the  gov- 
ernmental machinery  for  law  enforcement  with  an 
active  State-wide  organization  of  the  churches  and 
law-abiding  citizens.  The  policy  of  this  organized 
medium  should  be  to  use  such  measures  and  aux- 
iliary helps  at  command  as  will  render  the  laws 
more  effective.  This  does  not  imply  that  it  shall  do 
police  duty  for  the  State,  but  rather  to  use  every 
means  to  induce  public  officials  to  work  for  the  abo- 
lition of  the  saloon  and  its  accessories  of  crime. 

To  this  end  the  organized  medium  of  the  feder- 
ated bodies  should  inculcate  respect  and  obedience 
for  law  as  well  as  to  arouse  public  sentiment  so  that 
each  citizen  will  discharge  his  share  of  civil  power 
and  responsibility  to  support  and  encourage  the 
officers  to  enforce  law  rigorously.  Public  sentiment 


158  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

is  necessary  to  enact  law,  but  it  is  not  always  neces- 
sary to  enforce  law.  Many  public  officials  are  enforc- 
ing the  laws  without  the  approval  of  the  majority 
of  the  citizens.  Public  opinion,  however,  is  essential 
to  elect  men  who  will  enforce  the  laws  continuously 
and  steadily. 

Law  is  strongest  and  most  operative  at  points 
where  the  moral  sense  of  the  communities  is  most 
sensitive  and  alert.  Public  sentiment  enthrones  or 
dethrones  all  laws.  It  is  such  an  omnipotent  power 
because  it  voices  men's  perceptions  of  right  and 
wrong.  Convictions  are  the  rules  of  action.  Without 
public  opinion  laws  can  be  neither  wisely  enacted 
nor  effectively  enforced.  Hence  the  necessity  of 
keeping  alive  the  ethical  conscience  of  the  individ- 
ual and  the  community  by  agitation.  The  saloon 
that  degrades  the  individual  and  menaces  civiliza- 
tion is  regarded  by  the  Supreme  Court  as  an  out- 
law, and  all  good  people  are  justified  in  arraying 
against  it  the  forces  of  education,  legislation,  and 
religion. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  it  is  the  private  citizen's 
duty  to  help  elect  to  positions  of  authority  men  of 
energy,  intelligence,  and  faithfulness,  who  will  act 
wisely  and  promptly  in  bringing  offenders  of  social 
order  to  justice.  A  dishonest  official  precludes  the 
possibility  of  enforcing  law.  Before  passing  judg- 
ment, however,  it  is  the  unquestioned  right  of  pub- 
lic officers  to  have  the  citizens  understand  and  to 
help  meet  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  enforcing 
the  laws  Any  wholesale  condemnation  or  abusive 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  159 

language  regarding  their  acts,  based  upon  imper- 
fect knowledge  of  the  conditions  and  facts  in  the 
case,  will  defeat  rather  than  aid  the  cause  of  social 
betterment.  If  the  majority  of  public  officers  thought 
it  politically  safe,  they  would  prefer  to  do  right  rather 
than  to  do  wrong.  Many  try  to  ease  their  conscience 
and  please  the  public  by  moving  along  the  line  of 
least  resistance.  The  best  way  to  deal  with  an  offi- 
cial with  such  a  vacillating  policy  is  to  hedge  him 
about  with  the  power  of  public  opinion  until  he  makes 
a  decision  and  burns  the  bridges  behind  him.  An 
honest  and  competent  official  should  be  protected 
politically,  and  the  unworthy  one  turned  down. 
Whenever  an  officer  stands  in  the  way  of  the  honest 
enforcement  of  law  good  citizens  should  work  to 
change  the  conditions  by  creating  a  strong  public 
sentiment  that  will  demand  the  removal  of  the 
derelict  officer  for  malfeasance  in  office,  by  means 
of  political  action  or  by  the  authority  of  the  governor. 
Again,  the  private  citizen  should  help  and  sus- 
tain the  officers  to  perform  their  duties  and  enforce 
the  law.  Laws  do  not  enforce  themselves,  but  are 
upheld  and  enforced  by  the  strong  arm  of  author- 
ity. Those  who  vote  to  enact  a  law  have  the  respon- 
sibility of  giving  the  necessary  moral  support  to  en- 
force it.  Men  are  culpable  when  they,  through  ti- 
midity or  indifference,  acquiesce  in  the  non-enforce- 
ment of  laws.  As  good  citizens  they  should  feel  im- 
pelled to  see  justice  meted  out  to  wrongdoers.  The 
delegation  of  power  to  the  executive  officers  is  not 
always  sufficient.  There  are  times,  as  ex-President 


160          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Harrison  says,  when  the  law-abiding  citizen  "  should 
put  himself  and  all  his  personal  influence  behind 
the  faithful  officer,  and  confront  as  an  accuser  and 
prosecutor  the  unfaithful.  This  is  not  an  agreeable 
duty,  but  it  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  covenant  of 
citizenship  as  that  we  will  lend  our  aid  in  making 
others  obey  the  law,  or  that  we  will  keep  the  law  our- 
selves. Our  government  is  a  law-and-order  league 
in  perpetuity,  and  the  members  have  something 
more  to  do  than  to  elect  officers  and  appoint  com- 
mittees." The  prevalent  idea  that  the  citizen  may 
shirk  responsibility  in  the  enforcement  of  law  is  to 
be  deprecated.  This  cooperative  effort  does  not 
involve  any  one  in  such  a  way  as  to  require  him  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  executive  officers, 
but  simply  to  help  the  officers  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duties  in  preserving  order  and  enforcing  law. 
The  public  officer  should  likewise  be  made  to 
feel  the  responsibility  of  taking  the  initiative  in  pros- 
ecution and  to  make  complaint  against  the  violators 
of  law,  as  well  as  to  enforce  the  same.  In  some 
States  a  severe  penalty  is  imposed  upon  public  offi- 
cials who  wilfully  refuse  to  proceed  against  offenders 
of  law  when  trustworthy  evidence  is  placed  in  their 
hands.  Our  government  is  not  based  upon  the  idea 
that  the  private  citizen  should  enforce  the  laws. 
Therefore  it  is  unwise  to  encourage  or  countenance 
private  prosecution,  except  in  rare  instances  where 
the  purpose  is  to  convict  public  officials  of  neglect 
of  duty,  or  to  furnish  evidences  of  lawlessness.  The 
prosecuting  officials  who  are  sworn  to  enforce  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  161 

laws,  and  are  paid  to  do  the  same,  should  never  be 
relieved  from  the  responsibility  by  the  private  cit- 
izen assuming  the  duty  of  the  regular  public  officer. 
Judge  Grant,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Michigan, 
says: 

"I  want  to  tell  you  right  here  that  the  next  time 
an  officer  says  it  is  not  his  business  to  make  com- 
plaint, and  tells  you  that  if  you  will  sign  the  com- 
plaint he  will  set  the  machinery  of  law  in  motion, 
you  can  assure  him  that  it  is  not  the  duty  of  any 
private  citizen  to  do  this.  It  is  not  safe  for  any  pri- 
vate citizen  to  attack  three  kinds  of  law-breakers, — 
keepers  of  houses  of  prostitution,  gamblers,  and 
liquor-dealers  who  sell  unlawfully.  The  suppres- 
sion of  their  illegal  business  is  not  the  concern  of 
the  private  citizen.  If  he  is  active  in  this  direction 
he  may  have  his  house  burned  down,  or  be  subject 
to  assault.  But  the  offenders  of  law  dare  not  assault 
the  officer,  because  he  represents  the  majesty  of  the 
law.  Every  police  officer  has  the  power  of  the  govern- 
ment behind  him ;  and  law-breakers  know  that  if  they 
kill  the  officer  they  never  can  kill  the  office  —  that  as 
soon  as  one  officer  is  out  of  the  way  there  is  another 
in  his  place.  Law  enforcement  is  what  you  pay  the 
officers  for,  and  it  is  their  duty,  and  not  a  private 
citizen's." 

The  radical  fault  with  many  of  our  Law-and- 
Order  Leagues  is  that  they  assume  to  perform  by 
private  means  police  duties  which  properly  belong 
to  public  officials.  In  this  way  public  conscience 
is  educated  away  from  the  official  responsibility  of 


162  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

enforcing  the  law.  The  existence  of  these  leagues 
can  be  justified  only  as  an  auxiliary  moral  force, 
but  they  should  not  assume  any  authority  or  respon- 
sibility that  properly  belongs  to  the  local  officers  of 
the  law. 

Again,  a  representative  jury  is  an  important  fac- 
tor. A  public  officer  dare  not  be  influenced  in  the 
selection  of  a  jury,  but  he  may  exercise  the  right  of 
asking  names  from  which  to  choose  them.  Citizens 
when  selected  should  turn  aside  cheerfully  from  their 
business  and  serve  on  a  jury.  When  a  strategic  move 
is  made  by  the  anti-saloon  forces  to  try  a  case  or 
define  the  duties  of  an  official,  private  citizens  should 
lend  their  influence  by  attending  the  hearing  of  such 
cases  in  court.  The  enemy  is  alert  to  use  this  means 
of  influencing  the  jury.  The  able  and  experienced 
attorney  Wayne  B.  Wheeler  says:  "  I  have  often  gone 
into  the  courtroom  and  found  thugs,  bums,  and 
shoulder-hitters,  and  plug  uglies  there  to  show  their 
sympathies  for  some  lawless  dive-keeper,  and  hardly 
a  friend  of  good  government,  perhaps  outside  of  the 
mayor  or  judge,  to  stand  for  law  and  its  enforce- 
ment. Jeers  and  jibes  of  all  kinds  were  given  to 
make  it  easy  for  the  court  and  jury  to  acquit.  Ex- 
pressions of  disapproval  could  be  heard  whenever 
a  point  was  decided  against  the  law-breaker,  and 
on  many  such  occasions,  after  the  officer  had  done 
his  duty,  we  see  a  score  of  liquor  sympathizers  crowd- 
ing around  him  with  all  kinds  of  threats  and  dis- 
approval, and  very  seldom  a  friend  of  law  enforce- 
ment would  push  his  way  through  that  motley  gang 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  163 

and  shake  hands  or  say  a  word  of  encouragement 
to  the  officers  of  law."  No  one  can  conceal  the  sin- 
ister significance  of  these  facts.  An  organized  power 
of  civic  righteousness  should  make  itself  felt  through 
the  law-abiding  citizens  entering  the  courtroom  and 
by  their  presence  and  demeanor  make  such  condi- 
tions impossible. 

The  organized  medium  of  the  anti-saloon  forces 
heretofore  outlined  can  well  afford  to  employ  an  in- 
telligent, expert  attorney  with  a  State- wide  vision 
and  prerogative,  whose  duties  should  be  to  help 
draft  municipal  ordinances  and  bills  for  legislative 
actions,  as  well  as  to  counsel  and  assist  local  author- 
ities in  the  enforcement  of  the  liquor  laws.  A  wide- 
awake attorney  might  be  very  helpful  in  preparing 
a  small  digest  of  anti-saloon  legislation  and  court 
decisions  within  the  State  in  which  he  operates.  He 
needs  to  study  carefully  the  situation  and  give  all 
his  time  to  the  active  and  responsible  position  of  a 
law-enforcing  department  as  an  auxiliary  force.  He 
should  be  subject  to  calls  from  local  officials  and 
organizations  and  assist  them  to  draft  ordinances, 
prepare  briefs  on  points  of  law,  and  to  cooperate 
with  such  local  officers  and  prosecuting  attorneys 
as  may  desire  to  perform  their  duty  of  enforcing 
law,  but  who  are  often  puzzled  how  best  to  go  about 
it.  There  are  many  such  officials  in  every  State  who 
need  guidance  and  encouragement  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  duties.  The  attorney  who  gains  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  public  officials  will  have 
an  unlimited  number  of  calls  for  his  services.  In 


164  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Ohio  such  an  expert  attorney  has  been  employed  by 
the  an ti -saloon  forces  for  a  period  of  eight  years. 
He  is  unable  to  respond  to  the  numerous  calls  from 
local  officials  for  his  services.  Within  this  brief  pe- 
riod he  has  been  able  to  help  introduce  into  court 
more  than  1,200  cases  for  illegal  liquor-selling,  and 
has  won  more  than  eighty-five  per  cent  of  them.  A 
specialist  in  anti-saloon  legislation  and  law  enforce- 
ment for  each  State  is  an  invaluable  adjunct  for 
effective  work  against  the  saloon. 

The  people  must  choose  between  being  ruled  by 
wise  and  just  laws  or  by  the  self-constituted  author- 
ity of  those  who  defy  them.  The  plan  of  liberal  en- 
forcement of  anti-saloon  laws  is  simply  a  plan  of  ne- 
gation and  inaction.  The  only  safeguard  is  to  up- 
hold the  majesty  of  the  law  by  demanding  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  same  with  unwavering  fidelity. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  165 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  COORDINATING  POWER  IN 
LEADERSHIP 

He  stood  upon  the  world's  broad  threshold;  wide 

The  din  of  battle  and  of  slaughter  rose; 
He  saw  God  stand  upon  the  weaker  side, 

That  sank  in  seeming  loss  before  its  foes; 
Many  there  were  who  made  great  haste  and  sold 

Unto  the  cunning  enemy  their  swords. 
He  scorned  their  gifts  of  fame,  and  power,  and  gold, 

And  underneath  their  soft  and  flowery  words 
Heard  the  cold  serpent  hiss;  therefore  he  went 

And  joined  him  to  the  weaker  part, 
Fanatic  named,  and  fool,  yet  well  content 

So  he  could  be  the  nearer  to  God's  heart, 
And  feel  its  solemn  pulses  sending  blood 
Through  all  the  wide-spread  veins  of  endless  good. 

—  LOWELL. 

THE  foregoing  considerations  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion that  social-reform  movements  are 
not  necessarily  isolated,  arbitrary,  and  ca- 
pricious, but  may  be  broadened  and  systematized 
through  intelligent  foresight  and  organic  effort.  The 
permanency  and  regularity  of  truth,  by  which  the 
world  is  governed,  as  well  as  the  inherent  nature  of 
man,  make  it  possible  to  put  reform  methods  upon 
a  basis  that  will  command  the  intelligent  sympathy 
and  support  of  level-headed  men  whose  cooperation 
is  essential  to  success. 

We  have  seen  that  the  essential  social  factors  in 
the  solution  of  the  saloon  problem  are  the  federa- 


166  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

tion  of  churches,  organization,  public-sentiment 
building,  legislation,  and  law  enforcement.  The 
relative  importance  of  each  depends  upon  time  and 
circumstances.  No  single  social  force,  but  the  sev- 
eral forces  acting  conjointly,  are  essential  to  work 
out  the  problem.  All  are  involved  in  the  equation. 
They  must,  however,  be  coordinated  and  made  to 
work  and  co-work  for  the  suppression  of  the  saloon. 
If  there  is  a  break  in  the  chain  it  must  be  supplied. 
If  there  is  a  gap  through  which  the  enemy  may  es- 
cape justice  it  must  be  guarded.  Every  agency  must 
be  carefully  utilized  if  effective  work  is  to  be  done. 
The  paramount  question  that  confronts  us  is,  Who 
will  coordinate  these  social  forces  and  help  make 
them  work  together  for  a  common  end?  This  del- 
icate but  essential  work  requires  the  wisest  and  most 
skilful  leadership.  Its  importance  must  not  be  over- 
looked. 

The  method  of  a  kind  Providence  in  dealing  with 
mankind  is  to  choose  one  nation  or  individual  to 
bless  the  many.  Men  endowed  with  great  capaci- 
ties are  selected  to  communicate  some  powerful  new 
impulse  to  the  race.  God  selects  a  particular  man 
for  a  particular  service.  He  selects  a  Moses  to  in- 
augurate one  of  the  greatest  industrial  revolutions 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  He  chooses  a  Paul  to 
bear  the  divine  message  to  the  Gentile  world.  In 
modern  times  he  summons  leaders  who,  with  ten- 
der pity  and  a  throbbing  passion  for  humanity,  are 
entering  every  door  of  opportunity  for  service. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  167 

"God  sends  his  teachers  into  every  age, 
To  every  clime  and  every  race  of  men, 
With  revelations  fitted  to  their  growth 
And  shape  of  mind. " 

The  method  of  placing  leaders  of  high  and  lofty 
mould  in  the  forefront  of  reforms  to  help  shape  hu- 
man thought  and  destiny  is  a  recognition  of  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  most  efficient  service  is  rendered  by 
specializing.  To  each  one,  however  humble,  is  given 
a  special  endowment,  which  implies  special  fitness 
for  a  special  service.  Each  one  may  enrich  society 
by  a  personal  contribution  of  ideas  or  influence  to 
make  the  world's  burdens  lighter,  faith  surer,  and 
joy  fuller.  The  great  variety  of  talents  and  duties 
involved  in  the  work  enables  each  one  to  become  a 
specialist  and  a  leader  in  his  or  her  chosen  field  of 
labor. 

Correlated  with  this  truth  is  the  fact  that  most 
men  have  a  strong  desire  and  a  natural  instinct  to 
follow  worthy  leadership.  Many  are  in  search  of 
light  and  truth,  and  are  ready  to  follow  whenever 
there  is  a  leader  who  leads.  Comparatively  few 
men  see  beyond  their  daily  duties,  or  get  such  a 
broad,  comprehensive  view  of  life  that  it  will  be  suf- 
ficiently inspiring  to  execute  some  great  plan.  Those 
who  seek  for  the  fullest  expression  of  life  desire  to 
come  under  the  influence  and  leadership  of  the  best 
minds  and  noblest  characters.  Men  wer.e  never 
more  alert  than  at  present  to  find  the  best  expert 
leadership,  whether  it  comes  from  the  press,  the  plat- 


168  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

form,  the  pulpit,  or  from  any  source  whatsoever.  The 
highest  interests  of  society  are  involved  in  the  ques- 
tion of  competent  and  trustworthy  leadership.  The 
people  are  ready  to  respond  to  the  command  of  lead- 
ers who  without  a  pessimistic  wail  are  able  to  grap- 
ple successfully  with  vital  social  problems. 

The  importance  only  emphasizes  the  high  type 
of  leadership  demanded  in  reform  movements.  The 
successful  leader  should  have  a  comprehensive  vi- 
sion of  social  affairs.  He  should  be  familiar  with  the 
philosophy  of  history  and  the  underlying  principles 
of  social  problems.  No  reform  movement  will  widen 
and  deepen  unless  the  leaders  are  big  enough  to  have 
large  conceptions  and  a  broad  vision  to  see  the  scope 
of  the  work,  and  the  remedies  to  be  applied.  Some 
men  often  forestall  the  efforts  of  reform  by  limiting 
their  vision  to  their  small  parish,  or  to  some  provin- 
cial sphere.  They  make  their  maps  from  the  view- 
point of  the  foot-hills.  The  demand  is  for  leaders 
who  are  capable  of  thinking  not  only  in  terms  of 
parishes,  towns,  cities,  states,  and  nations,  but  in 
terms  of  world-wide  thought  and  interests.  Such 
leaders  are  willing  that  some  men  shall  occupy  a 
two-by-four  intellectual  space,  if  they  can  but  be 
given  the  rest  of  the  universe  of  thought.  The  pessi- 
mist only  sees  things,  while  the  optimist  is  a  man 
with  a  vision.  Joshua  and  Caleb  brought  in  a  favor- 
able minority  report,  but  still  were  unable  to  induce 
the  Israelites  to  take  a  short  cut  into  Palestine.  In 
the  face  of  apparent  defeat  they  were  not  discour- 
aged, but  took  a  long  look  ahead.  They  began  to 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  169 

mobilize  and  drill  an  army  of  young  men  under 
twenty  years  who  would  some  day  execute  the  divine 
plans.  This  forty-year  vision  was  rewarded  by  their 
leading  the  victorious  army  into  the  land  of  prom- 
ise. This  type  of  leaders  are  statesmen  of  the  king- 
dom. They  make  the  advances  towards  the  real- 
ization of  a  larger  social  vision. 

The  true  essence  of  successful  leadership  is  a 
strong  commanding  conviction.  The  stronghold  and 
safeguard  of  the  leader  is  to  understand  and  believe 
in  his  work.  This  implies  that  he  does  not  advocate 
any  false  theories  or  set  up  any  false  standard.  His 
social  ideals  must  be  attainable.  His  message  must 
be  simple,  definite,  and  comprehensive.  He  must 
plant  his  two  feet  on  solid  principles  and  indubita- 
ble facts,  and  be  prepared  to  deliver  his  message  in 
an  earnest,  convincing,  and  pleasing  manner.  He 
must  be  a  living  illustration  of  the  message  of  truth 
which  he  seeks  to  enforce  and  establish.  He  must 
not  only  possess  the  truth,  but  the  truth  must  possess 
him.  The  irrepressible  conviction  of  truth  must  be 
so  powerful  that  it  can  no  more  be  held  back  than 
Niagara's  rush  of  waters.  The  truth,  with  its  inner, 
burning,  and  seething  contents,  must  lift  the  leader 
like  a  volcanic  peak  above  the  common  level  of  hu- 
manity and  make  him  a  true  beacon  light  of  the  race 
and  of  history.  Such  intensity  of  conviction  sets  the 
truth  aflame  and  enables  the  leader  to  laugh  at  tem- 
poral contingencies,  because  his  soul  is  anchored  in 
the  eternal  foundations  of  truth.  On  January  1, 
1831,  Garrison  declared,  as  he  faced  the  almost 


170          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

universal  apathy  of  the  times,  "I  am  in  earnest;  I 
will  not  equivocate;  I  will  not  excuse;  I  will  not  re- 
treat a  single  inch;  I  will  be  heard."  Clear  and  pos- 
itive convictions  of  duty  enable  a  man  to  feel  the 
weight  of  responsibility  so  that  he  can  throw  his  soul 
into  the  accomplishment  of  his  task  without  fear  or 
favor.  The  men  who  live  in  history  are  those  who 
have  been  closely  associated  with  great  religious  and 
moral  movements. 

A  shallow  man  is  never  swayed  by  strong,  abid- 
ing convictions.  Truth  must  first  find  lodgment  in 
the  depths  of  consciousness  before  its  inward  force 
prompts  a  man  to  perform  heroic  service.  Such  a 
leader  is  able  to  step  in  front  of  the  throng  and  take 
the  initiative,  and  he  becomes  the  hope  of  the  uncer- 
tain and  brings  courage  to  the  weak.  He  stands 
firm  and  confident  when  the  elements  of  war  are 
about  him,  and  copes  with  evil  men,  and  faces  alike 
the  sneers  and  scoffs  of  friends  and  enemies.  He 
enacts  such  valor  in  his  own  experience  that  he  re- 
inforces the  consciousness  of  right  and  immortal- 
ity in  a  thousand  hearts.  He  inspires  courage,  self- 
reliance,  and  independence,  and  soon  develops  a 
sympathy  that  passes  on  to  love.  His  heroic  services 
lift  the  reform  he  advocates  above  any  fitful  and 
spasmodic  effort,  and  exhibit  him  as  a  worthy  leader 
of  men.  He  speaks  the  truth  out  of  his  own  heart, 
and  so  stirs  men's  inertia  as  to  contribute  to  the 
progressive  and  aggressive  element  in  life  known  as 
heroism,  The  people  cheerfully  espouse  the  cause 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  171 

of  such  a  leader  with  all  the  earnestness  of  personal 
regard  and  discovery. 

The  leader  must  likewise  be  a  specialist  in  coordi- 
nation. The  various  social  agencies  involved  in  the 
saloon  problem  exist  in  similar  relations  with  coor- 
dinate authority  and  responsibility.  These  must  be 
adjusted  and  coordinated  for  practical  effectiveness. 
The  essential  point  to  be  gained  by  the  combination 
of  these  social  agencies  is  the  introduction  of  a  pow- 
erful unifying  force.  The  several  social  factors  in 
the  saloon  conflict  are  not  strange  and  uncommon. 
They  are  the  natural  channels  through  which  the 
political  and  social  life  expresses  itself.  These  social 
forces  must  be  utilized  and  given  fresh  emphasis  by 
combining  them  in  the  most  effective  manner  for 
the  suppression  of  the  saloon.  The  defect  in  many 
reform  efforts  is  that  one  specific  social  agency  is 
emphasized  and  others  equally  important  are  over- 
looked. It  is  necessary  to  bring  all  the  social  forces 
to  bear  upon  this  given  reform.  The  true  leader 
surveys  the  whole  field,  and  gathers  the  latest  opin- 
ions and  conclusions  of  specialists,  and  is  prepared 
to  combine  them  so  as  to  contribute  to  the  solution 
of  the  problem  under  consideration.  He  is  the  con- 
trolling mind  to  unite  men  with  right  "qualities  and 
abilities  so  that  they  are  willing  to  serve  without 
jealousy,  friction,  or  conflict  in  any  sphere  where 
their  efforts  will  count  for  the  most. 

Again,  the  leader  should  possess  executive  abil- 
ity of  a  high  order.  No  systematic  and  continuous 


172  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

campaign  can  be  carried  on  against  the  saloon  forces 
without  the  power  of  initiative  and  a  rare  organizing 
ability.  The  leader  must  study  the  social  situation, 
and  possess  that  indefinable  quality  of  getting  on 
with  men  so  that  he  can  unite  them  in  a  common 
effort  against  the  saloon.  He  should  be  able  to  inves- 
tigate the  fitness  of  candidates  for  public  office,  and 
keep  a  record  of  their  official  acts,  and  when  possible 
secure  their  cooperation.  He  must  be  skilful  enough 
to  use  diplomacy  rather  than  to  antagonize  or  try  to 
coerce  political  leaders  whom  he  wishes  to  enlist. 
This  gift  is  so  rare  that  the  diplomat  commands  a 
higher  salary  than  the  general.  No  man  is  disqual- 
ified for  leadership  who  is  resourceful  and  who  has 
the  ability  to  become  a  specialist  in  coordinating 
the  essential  social  agencies  involved  in  the  conflict. 
The  spirit  of  service  is  another  quality  of  leader- 
ship. It  is  essential  in  the  exercise  of  forbearance  in 
dealing  with  the  folly  and  morbid  conservatism  of 
the  majority  of  men.  Many  people  are  inherently 
weak  and  indifferent  in  regard  to  great  moral  issues 
and  social  reforms.  Others  who  hide  their  convic- 
tions through  fear  of  financial  losses  or  social  ostra- 
cism or  political  preferment  are  slow  to  accept  and 
follow  any  one  who  has  a  care  for  civic  righteous- 
ness. It  requires  a  great  amount  of  patience  and 
tact  to  keep  in  close  sympathy  with  this  type  of  peo- 
ple and  lead  them  out  into  a  larger  life.  Most  peo- 
ple are  open  to  the  genial  influences  of  love  and  pa- 
tience. The  spirit  of  forbearance  characterized  the 
life  of  Moses,  who  bore  with  the  sins  and  follies  of 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  173 

the  children  of  Israel  for  forty  years.  Wesley  pos- 
sessed such  catholicity  of  spirit  that  he  could  forbear 
with  the  conservative  and  torpid  Church  of  Eng- 
land. His  large  sympathy  and  rare  insight  into 
character  and  the  possibilities  of  divine  power  fitted 
him  to  work  with  all  the  tenderness  of  a  loving  father 
for  the  most  needy,  abandoned,  and  despised  classes 
in  English  society.  Those  who  would  lead  mankind 
out  of  the  bondage  of  wrong  into  the  land  of  prom- 
ise, where  righteousness,  justice,  and  truth  reign, 
must  go  about  it  step  by  step  and  bear  with  the 
ignorant,  indifferent,  and  cowardly  until  they  them- 
selves come  to  realize  their  privileges  and  duties. 
This  spirit  of  forbearance  must  be  sustained  by  the 
self-sacrificing  spirit  of  love.  The  manifestation  of 
a  spirit  of  impatience  at  the  tardy  movement  of  re- 
form will  often  defeat  the  very  object  sought.  The 
temptation  that  comes  to  all  leaders,  from  the  hum- 
blest teacher  to  the  greatest  moral  reformer,  is  to 
grow  impatient,  restless,  and  sometimes  almost  dis- 
couraged at  the  apparent  indifference  and  tardiness 
of  those  who  should  follow  cheerfully  the  highest 
reason  and  right  conduct.  The  leader,  however,  who 
would  command  the  permanent  respect  and  honor 
of  the  people  must  not  only  stand  firm  in  moral 
principles,  and  voice  the  best  conscience  of  the  na- 
tion, but  exercise  the  patience  of  Moses  and  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Master  in  dealing  with  those  whom  he 
would  win  to  the  cause  of  righteousness. 

Among  the  qualities  of  the  successful  leader  are 
those  of  hopefulness  and  cheerfulness.    That  he  may 


174  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

escape  becoming  morose  and  servile  under  the  bur- 
den of  his  mission  the  leader  should  aim  to  be  cheer- 
ful and  hopeful  in  the  midst  of  discouragements  and 
trials  of  every  kind.  If  these  qualities  are  not  a  nat- 
ural possession  they  should  be  acquired  and  culti- 
vated, the  same  as  other  Christian  graces.  The 
world  needs  men  of  high-minded  cheerfulness  and 
buoyant  hopefulness.  It  is  this  spirit  that  gives  elas- 
ticity to  work.  A  cheerful  and  hopeful  disposition 
is  contagious,  and  will  carry  victory  where  others 
prophesy  defeat.  More  people  are  failing  to  make 
a  success  of  life  through  want  of  cheerfulness  and 
hopefulness  than  for  any  other  cause.  Discourage- 
ment is  the  enemy  of  all  reform,  and  a  barrier  to  all 
progress.  Men  crave  the  vision  of  a  larger  hope, 
a  broader  plan,  and  a  nobler  purpose.  They  need 
positive  teaching,  and  a  revelation  of  their  better 
nature.  The  multitude  followed  the  greatest  Leader 
of  men  gladly  because  he  came  to  preach  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy,  and  to  give  a  more  abundant  life.  He 
promised  a  hundred-fold  in  this  life,  as  well  as  the 
life  to  come.  The  whole  gospel  scheme  of  the  world's 
redemption  is  optimistic.  No  one  can  utter  the  Lord's 
prayer  understandingly  without  a  broadened  vision 
and  an  increased  motive  for  larger  service.  Through 
the  biographies  of  the  world's  greatest  leaders  there 
runs  a  vein  of  cheerfulness,  and  even  of  exultation, 
awakened  by  the  vision  of  the  good  time  that  was  to 
come.  The  apostle  Paul  exhorted  his  followers  "to 
rejoice,  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice."  Luther  was  a 
man  of  jovial  spirits.  Wesley  possessed  wit  and  rep- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  175 

artee  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  the  stories  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  show  a  profound  sense  of  the  hu- 
morous. Livingston,  through  all  the  years  spent  in 
the  dark  continent,  kept  before  him  the  vision  of  the 
time  when  every  valley  and  every  hilltop  should  be 
dotted  with  schoolhouses  and  churches.  These  great 
leaders  realized  in  their  lives  the  scriptural  state- 
ment that  "the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 

Again,  the  only  adequate  motive  for  sustained 
service  in  behalf  of  the  general  welfare  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Christian  spirit.  A  thoughtless  and  irrever- 
ent person  never  makes  a  great  reformer.  The  Mas- 
ter's work  must  be  done  with  the  Master's  spirit. 
The  strong,  skilful  leader  is  fortified  with  a  devout 
Christian  character.  He  nourishes  in  secret  an  ar- 
dent love  of  truth,  justice,  and  mercy.  In  some  day 
of  great  crisis  this  accumulated  moral  force  comes 
forth  in  the  form  of  an  overbearing  eloquence  and 
power  that  hastens  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth. 

These  qualities  flow  together  to  form  a  leader  of 
rare  excellence.  They  are  not  embodied  to  an  equal 
degree  in  any  one  person.  Some  excel  as  agitators 
and  lawyers,  while  others  are  singularly  fitted  to 
work  along  legislative  and  executive  lines.  Each 
should  serve  where  he  can  serve  best.  Leaders  of 
this  type  may  be  found  who  are  already  doing  ex- 
cellent service  in  various  fields  of  religious  and  phil- 
anthropic work.  One  of  the  important  functions 
of  our  colleges  is  to  train  young  people  to  become 
leaders  in  social-welfare  movements.  Bright  and 


176  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

worthy  young  men  with  potential  possibilities  for 
leadership  must  be  chosen  for  the  work.  Reform 
movements,  especially  at  the  beginning,  are  likely 
to  have  men  enter  the  work  with  no  special  fitness 
or  adaptability  to  do  effective  service.  Hence  it 
comes  to  pass  that  reforms  must  be  reformed.  The 
reform  movement  is  greater  than  any  personality. 
Inefficient  men  must  be  eliminated,  and  men  of  large 
capabilities  must  be  induced  to  take  up  the  impor- 
tant work.  Meantime  its  friends  should  be  mind- 
ful of  the  hindrances,  and  exercise  patience  until 
conspicuous  leadership  steps  to  the  front  and  takes 
command. 

When  successful  methods  are  endorsed,  and 
proper  leaders  are  chosen  to  execute  them,  the  re- 
sponsibility for  success  rests  with  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  people  to  encourage  and  support  the  move- 
ment. The  abolition  of  the  saloon  is  an  integral  part 
of  church  work.  This  duty  cannot  be  discharged 
without  the  regular  presentation  of  the  cause  to  the 
people,  and  without  an  opportunity  being  given  them 
to  contribute  regularly  to  support  the  work.  The 
movement  has  just  claims  upon  the  church  benev- 
olence. It  is  not  even  on  the  same  level  with  other 
benevolent  causes.  The  irresistible  conflict  between 
the  church  and  the  saloon  requires  that  this  move- 
ment have  paramount  claim  upon  the  churches  for 
support.  If  the  work  is  to  be  permanent,  aggressive, 
and  effective  it  should  be  placed  upon  a  substantial 
financial  basis.  The  support  is  not  to  be  left  to  im- 
pulse or  chance.  If  the  income  is  to  be  reliable, 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  177 

permanent,  and  adequate  to  secure  the  most  efficient 
service,  Christian  people  should  give  regularly  and 
generously.  The  cause  should  not  only  be  incor- 
porated in  the  schedule  of  church  benevolences,  but 
men  of  means  should  vie  with  each  other  in  donating 
generous  sums  to  further  the  work.  Many  of  the 
appeals  for  money  have  reference  to  the  deplorable 
social  conditions  which  spring  from  the  saloon  evil; 
but  in  giving  for  the  work  of  throttling  the  saloon 
the  supporters  are  dealing  with  the  chief  cause  of  so- 
cial evil,  rather  than  with  social  conditions.  Hence 
money  spent  in  the  anti-saloon  work  does  more  for 
civilization,  humanity,  and  the  coming  of  the  king- 
dom than  expenditure  for  any  other  cause,  however 
worthy. 

The  leaders  in  this  interunion  of  churches  against 
the  saloon  are  servants  of  the  Church.  Their  effi- 
ciency depends  upon  the  support  and  encourage- 
ment given.  Whenever  these  leaders  present  the 
cause  in  the  churches  they  should  not  be  regarded  as 
beggars,  but  rather  as  associate  pastors.  They  are 
giving  more  to  the  cause  than  the  man  who  writes 
his  check.  They  are  engaged  in  fighting  an  unprin- 
cipled foe.  It  requires  heroic  service  and  the  utmost 
vigilance  to  do  effective  work.  The  wife  and  chil- 
dren of  the  leader  must  give  up  the  joy  of  the  pres- 
ence of  a  husband  and  father  in  order  that  he  can 
give  the  major  portion  of  his  time  to  fight  the  saloon. 
The  leader  who  stands  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle 
should  not  have  the  additional  burden  of  looking 
after  his  support.  This  cause,  like  the  missionary 


178  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

cause,  should  have  the  hearty  cooperation  of  all  the 
churches.  The  important  question  that  confronts 
each  church  is  not  whether  it  will  support  the  work, 
but  whether  it  will  fight  the  saloon,  and  if  so,  when 
and  how.  The  anti-saloon  movement,  backed  by 
the  churches,  has  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt 
its  efficiency.  It  must  have  more  than  a  passive 
endorsement  and  professed  sympathy.  The  wisdom 
of  its  methods  challenges  attention  and  invites,  yea, 
demands,  the  cordial  and  substantial  support  of 
every  lover  of  humanity. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  179 


CHAPTER  XI 
SUBSTITUTES  FOR  THE 

We  sow  an  act  and  reap  a  habit; 
We  sow  a  habit  and  reap  a  character; 
We  sow  a  character  and  reap  a  destiny. 

—  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

The  first  and  best  of  victories  is  for  a  man  to  conquer  himself. 
To  be  conquered  by  himself  is  all  things  most  shameful  and  vile.  — 
PLATO. 

I  know  what  these  saloons  are.  I  have  visited  them  at  all  hours 
of  the  night,  and  on  all  nights  of  the  week,  and  there  is  not  an  ex- 
tenuating word  that  deserves  to  be  spoken  in  behalf  of  them.  They 
are  foul,  beastly,  and  swinish,  the  prolific  hotbeds  of  vile  politics, 
profane  ribaldry,  and  unspeakable  sensuality.  —  REV.  CHARLES 
FARKHURST. 

The  pledge  written  and  circulated  by  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
now  used  by  multiplied  thousands  of  the  Lincoln  Legion: 

'Whereas,  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage  is  pro- 
ductive of  pauperism,  degradation,  and  crime,  and  believing  it  is 
our  duty  to  discourage  that  which  produces  more  evil  than  good, 
therefore  we  pledge  ourselves  to  aostain  from  the  use  of  intox- 
icating liquors  as  a  beverage." 

THE  negative  and  destructive  methods  em- 
ployed  in   social-reform   movements   should 
be  accompanied  or  followed  by  positive  and 
constructive  ones.     It  is  a  well-attested  fact  that  a 
full,  well-rounded,  normal  life  demands  expression 
rather  than  repression.    The  best  way  to  overcome 
evil  is  to  supplant  it  with  something  good.     This 
principle  accords  with  the  teachings  of  the  Master, 
who  came  to  displace  the  old  nature  with  one  re- 
newed in  righteousness,  and  to  dispel  sorrow  and 


180          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

misery  by  bringing  in  glad  tidings  of  great  joy.  He 
taught  that  self-renunciation  is  a  doorway  to  a  more 
abundant  life,  and  that  all  apparent  losses  of  worldly 
interests  are  more  than  compensated  by  the  assur- 
ance of  a  hundred-fold  in  this  life,  as  well  as  in  the 
life  to  come.  The  method  is  to  empty  by  filling,  to 
displace  ignorance  by  intelligence,  to  drive  out  organ- 
ized iniquity  by  substituting  organized  righteous- 
ness, to  banish  social  wickedness  and  misery  by 
bringing  in  a  social  paradise  of  justice  and  mercy. 

The  application  of  this  principle  in  all  efforts  to 
deal  with  the  saloon  problem  is  of  the  first  impor- 
tance. The  idea  of  a  substitute  for  the  saloon,  how- 
ever, should  not  be  narrowed  down  to  the  concep- 
tion of  setting  up  a  rival  business  in  competition 
with  it,  but  rather  to  find  some  broad,  rational,  and 
practical  method  of  counterbalancing  the  various 
motives  that  lead  men  to  patronize  the  saloon.  In 
order  to  do  this  work  it  is  essential  to  get  back  of  the 
saloon  and  study  the  complex  motives  of  its  patrons, 
and  then  to  direct  all  remedial  efforts  along  lines  in 
harmony  with  human  nature  and  society  as  they  are 
found. 

One  of  the  motives  commonly  regarded  as  lead- 
ing men  to  frequent  saloons  is  the  lack  of  warm, 
bright,  cheerful  homes.  Doubtless  there  is  a  close 
connection  between  small,  cheerless,  and  unsanitary 
houses  and  the  drink  habit.  Especially  in  cities, 
where  people  are  herded  together  in  tenement-houses 
with  two  or  three  dark  and  uninviting  rooms,  with- 
out the  amenities  of  home  life  and  the  means  of 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  181 

recreation,  they  will  naturally  crowd  into  the  street 
and  find  their  way  into  the  saloon.  Consequently,  the 
saloons  are  usually  massed  in  thickly  crowded  tene- 
ment districts,  a  fact  which  greatly  aggravates  the 
situation.  Dr.  Gould,  in  his  work  upon  "The 
Housing  of  the  Working  People,"  states :  "  In  St.  Giles 
ward  the  population  is  the  most  dense  and  the  hous- 
ing the  poorest  in  the  whole  city  of  Edinburgh. 
There  were  in  1889  in  this  division  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  licensed  premises  for  the  sale  of  liquor 
to  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  where  food  could  be 
obtained.  Strangely  enough,  the  rental  of  the  latter 
was  but  79.6%  as  much  as  for  the  former  — possi- 
bly a  gauge  of  relative  patronage.  Out  of  8,139  po- 
lice offences  in  Edinburgh  in  a  single  year,  2,690 
were  committed  in  St.  Giles  ward.  These  statistics 
are  exceedingly  suggestive.  The  district  contains 
one  eleventh  of  the  population  of  the  city,  yet  it 
furnishes  one  third  of  its  total  crime."  The  situation 
grows  all  the  more  serious  when  we  take  into  con- 
sideration the  vast  number  of  men  who,  without 
homes,  are  crowded  into  hotels  and  boarding-houses, 
and  who  have  few  attractions  outside  of  the  theatre 
and  the  saloon.  Many  of  these  men  squander  their 
money,  and  thereby  are  hopelessly  debarred  from 
establishing  homes  of  their  own.  A  long  step  in  ad- 
vance will  be  made  to  correct  the  saloon  evils  when 
men  are  encouraged  to  save  their  earnings  and  pro- 
vide themselves  with  clean,  comfortable  homes. 
Naturally,  the  home  should  be  the  chief  centre  of 
social  attraction.  However,  man's  social  activity 


182  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

reaches  beyond  the  family,  and  he  is  none  the  less 
loyal  to  it  when  he  seeks  the  larger  society  of  men. 

Insufficient  and  unwholesome  food  is  likewise  a 
motive  that  leads  many  into  the  saloon.  The  wage- 
earner  who  leaves  his  home  early  in  the  morning 
with  a  light  breakfast  often  has  before  the  dinner- 
hour  a  faint  and  languid  feeling.  In  this  condition 
he  is  told  by  his  fellow  workman  to  "brace  up  with 
a  drink."  He  yields  and  finds  temporary  relief.  A 
cold  lunch  at  the  noon  hour  and  the  toil  of  the  day 
further  tend  to  deplete  the  physical  energy.  At  the 
close  of  the  day's  work,  on  the  way  home,  he  sees 
the  saloon  signs,  and  the  psychological  power  of 
suggestion  again  leads  him  to  "brace  up"  with  a 
drink  and  a  free  lunch,  hoping  thereby  to  satisfy 
his  craving  appetite  for  nourishment.  The  result 
is  that  the  man  soon  acquires  an  appetite  for  drink 
and  becomes  a  victim  of  the  saloon  and  its  evil  con- 
sequences. 

Another  strong  motive  that  leads  men  into  the 
saloon  is  the  imperious  drink  habit.  The  appetite 
for  intoxicating  beverages  is  unnatural  and  must  be 
acquired.  Men  under  its  power  are  driven  into  sa- 
loons to  satisfy  the  abnormal  and  vicious  drink  habit. 
The  large  majority  of  men,  as  well  as  millions  of 
women  and  youth  in  this  country,  have  no  drink 
habit  fixed  upon  them,  and  consequently  have  no 
motive  to  enter  the  saloon  or  to  demand  a  substi- 
tute for  it. 

The  drink  habit  binds  and  degrades  men  of  all 
classes  and  conditions.  Its  victims  seek  out  the  sa- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  183 

loon,  high  or  low,  in  order  to  quench  their  unnat- 
ural thirst.  Moderate  drinkers  who  boast  of  their 
self-control  deceive  themselves  when  they  fail  to 
heed  the  warning  echoed  by  wise  men  of  all  ages, 
"Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red."  Most 
tipplers  are  not  aware  that  they  are  under  the  power 
of  the  drink  habit  until  they  try  to  leave  off  the  use 
of  intoxicants.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  more 
than  2,000,000  drunkards  in  this  country,  and  pos- 
sibly not  one  started  out  to  become  such.  Some  be- 
gan to  acquire  the  drink  habit  through  the  free  use 
of  patent  medicines,  or  by  taking  a  social  glass  to 
satisfy  the  urgent  request  of  their  friends.  Grad- 
ually, stealthily,  but  inevitably  the  habit  becomes 
fixed  and  holds  its  victims  with  imperious  and 
tyrannical  power.  By  far  the  largest  number  of  those 
addicted  to  the  drink  habit  have  acquired  it  at  the 
bar.  The  saloon  is  largely  responsible  for  the  cre- 
ation of  a  craving  appetite  for  intoxicants.  This 
statement  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  saloon- 
keeper cunningly  devises  means  of  awakening  an 
unnatural  thirst  by  the  concoction  of  drinks  and 
salted  luncheons.  The  stress  and  emphasis  of  the 
whole  problem  must  centre  about  this  one  cardinal 
fact:  that  the  saloon  helps  to  create  and  foster  the 
abnormal  drink  habit.  Here  is  the  root  of  the  saloon 
evil.  One  of  the  strong  reasons  for  suppressing  the 
saloon  is  to  keep  young  men  from  acquiring  the 
drink  habit.  The  confirmed  drinkers  will  seek  out 
the  blind-tigers,  kitchen  bar-rooms,  and  boot- 
leggers, and  try  to  satisfy  their  unnatural  thirst  for 


184  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

drink;  but  the  majority  of  the  youth  who  are  not 
thrown  into  the  way  of  the  temptation  of  the  open 
saloon  will  escape  the  snare  of  the  saloonist  and  will 
direct  their  powers  in  saner  channels.  Those  who 
plead  for  the  open  saloon  in  cities  on  the  ground  of 
their  heterogeneous  character  and  the  widely  different 
ethical  standards  appear  to  overlook  the  fact  that 
the  children  of  those  who  use  intoxicants  have  a 
better  right  to  be  protected  from  acquiring  the 
drink  habit  than  their  parents  have  to  demand  a  sa- 
loon for  indulging  in  a  habit  subversive  of  social 
well-being. 

Both  experience  and  reason  prove  that  any  substi- 
tute for  the  saloon  that  encourages  the  slightest  use 
of  alcohol  in  its  beverage  drinks  is  fostering  the  drink 
habit  and  becoming  the  recruiting-station  for  the 
more  vicious  saloon.  All  efforts  to  reform  the  traf- 
fic by  eliminating  private  profit  are  open  to  the  same 
objection.  It  should  be  remembered  that  a  substi- 
tute for  the  saloon  does  not  solve  the  problem  for 
those  already  under  its  power.  To  them  the  saloon 
is  a  social  necessity.  The  only  hope  for  this  class  is 
for  friends  to  encourage  them  to  shake  off  the  de- 
moralizing habit  through  the  dynamic  power  of 
divine  grace,  and  whenever  possible  to  suppress  the 
saloon  and  give  them  no  opportunity  to  make  the 
beverage  use  of  intoxicants  a  social  necessity.  The 
hope  of  the  future  is  to  protect  the  young  men  by 
suppressing  the  saloon,  and  thus  avoid  bringing  in  a 
new  generation  of  those  addicted  to  the  drink  habit. 

One  of  the  alleged*  motives  that  lead  men  into 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  185 

the  saloon  is  the  desire  to  satisfy  the  social  instincts. 
No  one  is  prepared  to  deal  with  the  saloon  who  does 
not  reckon  with  its  attractions  as  a  social  centre.  A 
few  of  them  are  brilliantly  lighted  and  furnished 
with  warmth,  free  seats,  and  public  conveniences, 
and  seemingly  are  entitled  to  a  measure  of  respect; 
but  these  conditions  are  exceedingly  rare.  One  rea- 
son why  the  saloon  survives  is  because  it  meets  and 
satisfies  the  desire  for  social  intercourse.  It  offers 
attractions  to  average  human  nature  by  creating 
good  fellowship  and  stimulating  the  social  nature. 
Music,  papers,  a  free  lunch,  and  amusements  of 
various  kinds  combine  to  give  a  zestful  variety  to 
man's  social  life.  The  saloon  is  called  a  democratic 
institution,  a  social  centre,  and  a  workingman's  club. 
Under  the  guise  of  these  terms  many  are  led  to  be- 
lieve that  the  saloon  has  redeeming  features  which 
justify  its  existence.  It  seems  that  the  Evil  One  has 
the  effrontery  to  appear  in  this  twentieth-century 
garb  and  become  as  much  an  angel  of  light  to-day 
as  he  did  to  our  first  parents  when  he  spoke  the  per- 
suasive words,  "It  is  good  for  food." 

The  saloon  as  a  place  for  retailing  and  drinking 
intoxicating  liquor  by  the  glass  for  beverage  pur- 
poses offers  some  social  advantages  of  a  very  ques- 
tionable character.  The  writer  has  read  the  pros 
and  cons  of  the  subject,  and  without  prejudice  has 
sought  by  personal  observation  in  various  towns  and 
cities  to  discover  the  social  advantages  spoken  of  by 
certain  writers  and  speakers,  and  he  is  satisfied  that 
the  saloon  as  a  social  centre  is  greatly  exaggerated. 


186  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

Some  of  the  patrons  of  the  saloon  take  their  drinks 
during  business  hours  and  fail  to  see  the  baser  side 
of  saloon  life.  We  speak  guardedly,  and  with  due 
regard  for  the  opinion  of  those  who  differ,  when  we 
assert  that  with  few  exceptions  it  is  impossible  to 
find  in  a  saloon  a  justifiable  social  attraction,  or  a 
place  to  satisfy  any  legitimate  social  instinct  or  neces- 
sity. The  average  type  of  saloon  is  gross  and  vulgar. 
It  has  no  tables,  chairs,  or  accommodations.  The 
things  most  in  evidence  are  barrels,  bottles,  glasses, 
and  a  bare  counter  where  men  line  up  to  drink.  In 
the  evening,  when  people  crowd  together  in  the  sa- 
loon, the  air  is  often  too  fetid  to  breathe,  and  the 
conversation  is  profane  and  obscene.  The  sole  pub- 
lic convenience  is  a  dirty  toilet-room. 

The  saloons  that  attract  most  men  are  those  that 
harbor  gambling  and  shelter  prostitutes.  The  sa- 
loons with  concert  halls,  where  so  many  men  and 
women  are  allured  to  drink  and  dance,  have  their 
walls  decorated  with  suggestive  and  indecent  pic- 
tures, and  one  hears  songs  of  the  most  revolting 
character.  The  whole  atmosphere  reveals  a  total 
lack  of  modesty  and  common  decency.  The  moral 
effect  on  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls  who  frequent 
these  resorts  is  anything  but  wholesome.  Close  stu- 
dents of  the  subject  who  get  below  the  surface  agree 
that  the  sociability  generated  in  the  saloon  is  un- 
natural and  leads  to  degeneracy.  Dr.  A.  Forel,  of 
Germany,  has  recently  pointed  out  that  the  social 
effect  of  the  small  quantity  of  alcohol  contained  in 
beer  is  in  consequence  of  cerebral  intoxication.  He 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  187 

says,  "  One  only  needs  to  study  in  Germany  the  beer 
jokes,  beer  conversation,  and  beer  literature.  They 
have  stifled  in  young  Germany  the  idealism,  the 
taste  for  the  classics,  and  the  finer  mental  pleasures, 
throughout  broad  parts  of  the  nation  and  in  both 
sexes,  to  an  extent  that  makes  one  cry  for  help. 
Among  the  academic  youth  of  Germany  the  drink- 
ing of  beer  has  truly  killed  the  ideals  and  the  ethics, 
and  has  produced  an  incredible  vulgarity."  The 
general  concurrence  of  authoritative  testimony  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  saloon  is  the  place  of  so- 
cial dissipation  rather  than  one  of  social  relaxation. 
It  is  here  that  vice  and  crime  foster,  putrefy,  and 
destroy  man's  physical  and  moral  nature.  Better 
far  would  it  be  to  leave  the  social  necessities  unmet 
than  to  build  up  an  institution  with  such  evil  conse- 
quences to  follow. 

This  conviction  is  not  held  alone  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  saloon.  Inside  testimony  comes  from 
the  influential  liquor  organ,  The  Bonf arts'  Wine  and 
Spirits  Circular,  which  voices  a  like  opinion  in  these 
words :  "  The  average  saloon  is  out  of  line  with  pub- 
lic sentiment.  The  average  saloon  ought  not  to  be 
defended  by  our  trade,  but  it  ought  to  be  condemned. 
In  small  towns  the  average  saloon  is  a  nuisance.  It 
is  a  resort  for  all  tough  characters,  and  in  the  South 
for  all  idle  negroes.  It  is  generally  on  a  prominent 
street,  and  it  is  usually  run  by  a  sport  who  cares 
only  for  the  almighty  dollar.  From  this  resort  the 
drunken  man  starts  reeling  to  his  home;  at  this  re- 
sort the  local  fights  are  indulged  in.  It  is  a  stench 


188          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

in  the  nostrils  of  society,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  wine 
and  spirit  trade.  How,  then,  shall  we  defend  the 
average  saloon?  We  answer,  Don't  defend  it;  con- 
demn it."  Face  to  face  with  these  facts,  no  man 
who  regards  his  fellows  can  permit  for  one  moment 
any  sentimentalism  to  soften  his  hatred  to  the  sa- 
loon. All  the  facts  go  to  show  that  it  is  a  place  of 
unmitigated  evil.  There  are  no  anodynes  or  palli- 
atives for  the  forms  of  evil  about  the  saloon  and  its 
adjuncts.  It  is  morally  impossible  to  talk  of  these 
places  of  iniquity  and  characterize  them  as  good. 
No  apology  can  be  given  for  their  existence.  They 
cannot  be  made  respectable  by  "  elevating  the  trade," 
nor  by  any  form  of  rival  substitutes.  The  traffic  in 
vice,  whether  it  be  in  a  gilded  saloon  or  a  low  dive, 
is  vicious  in  the  extreme.  The  modern  saloon  is  "a 
recrudescence  of  barbarism,"  and  is  no  more  a  so- 
cial necessity  than  gambling-dens  and  resorts  of  the 
social  evil.  However,  we  recognize  the  necessity 
for  some  constructive  policy  and  organic  social  effort 
to  counterbalance  the  attractions  of  the  saloon  and 
overcome  its  plague.  Especially  in  the  cities  and 
industrial  centres  the  social  need  must  be  met.  What- 
ever method  adopted  should  give  form  and  expres- 
sion to  the  altruistic  endeavor.  The  underlying  mo- 
tive should  be  that  of  service  and  mutual  helpfulness. 
It  has  been  demonstrated  that  there  are  success- 
ful ways  of  ministering  to  the  social  needs  of  those 
who  are  not  already  under  the  power  of  the  saloon. 
Helpful  social  agencies  are  at  work  in  many  quar- 
ters to  provide  means  for  ministering  to  the  social  in- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  189 

stincts.  Social  clubs,  association  halls,  coffee-houses, 
and  other  places  have  been  provided  with  reading- 
rooms,  games,  amusements,  and  inexpensive  re- 
freshments, as  counter-attractions  of  the  saloon.  A 
few  concrete  illustrations  show  what  can  be  done. 
The  Hollywood  Inn,  in  the  city  of  Yonkers,  New 
York,  has  a  club  building  with  good  appointments, 
and  cost  nearly  $250,000.  The  club  life  is  whole- 
some and  attractive.  The  idea  of  charity  is  elimi- 
nated, and  that  of  order,  equality,  and  democracy 
of  interest  is  uppermost.  Of  the  1,100  members, 
65%  are  from  the  artisan  class.  This  rational  and 
successful  effort  to  establish  a  point  of  social  con- 
tact in  the  community  and  to  make  the  club  of  prac- 
tical service  to  all  is  worthy  of  encouragement  and 
emulation.  Coffee  clubs  established  in  San  Jose, 
California,  and  elsewhere  have  proven  eminently 
successful.  The  purpose  is  to  provide  social  centres 
free  from  all  evil  environment,  and  to  serve  light  re- 
freshments at  a  nominal  price.  In  addition,  free 
reading-rooms,  with  games  and  amusements,  are 
maintained.  Here  multitudes  of  men  come  together 
in  the  most  democratic  fashion,  and  without  any  un- 
necessary restrictions  find  a  social  centre  that  greatly 
militates  against  that  of  the  saloon.  The  member- 
ship-fee is  one  dollar  per  year,  and  the  profits  of  the 
lunch-counter  pay  the  running  expenses.  All  the 
net  profits  are  used  to  perpetuate  and  enlarge  the 
work.  This  philanthropic  endeavor  meets  with  pop- 
ular favor,  and  has  become  a  commercial  success. 
Lecture  courses  and  amusements  in  many  cases 


190  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

render  an  important  service  to  help  break  the  dull 
monotony  of  life,  and  likewise  to  develop  a  purer 
taste.  New  York  City  maintains,  at  a  large  annual 
expense,  free  lecture  courses  in  one  hundred  and 
forty  different  places  of  the  city.  In  1903  more  than 
six  hundred  different  speakers  delivered  5,000  lec- 
tures, which  had  an  aggregate  attendance  of  1,134,- 
000  people.  The  aim  of  these  lectures  is  "  to  stimu- 
late study;  to  cooperate  with  the  public  library  and 
museum;  to  encourage  discussion;  to  bring  the  best 
methods  of  the  best  teachers  to  bear  upon  this  great 
problem  of  the  diffusion  of  culture  among  all  the 
citizens  of  a  great  city."  This  comprehensive  sys- 
tem of  adult  education  stimulates  interest  in  wider 
study  and  teaches  the  people  how  to  use  their  leisure. 
Furthermore,  as  a  preventive  measure  the  city  has 
opened  up  the  schoolhouses  as  play-centres  where 
children  of  all  nationalities  may  find  wholesome 
recreation  and  develop  their  social  natures  by  shar- 
ing common  pleasures  and  common  interests.  For 
example:  in  winter  approximately  5,000  children 
meet  for  organized  play  under  one  roof  every  day. 
In  the  summer  30,000  children  are  taken  out  of  the 
streets  and  turned  loose  to  play  on  the  roof -gardens 
of  the  schoolhouses.  Thousands  of  children  are 
'taught  how  to  use  their  time  by  being  instructed 
in  carpentry,  basketry,  chair-caning,  domestic  sci- 
ence, sewing,  and  millinery.  In  these  play-centres 
free  baths  are  operated,  and  the  good  effect  upon 
the  health  of  the  children  in  the  crowded  districts 
is  wholesome.  Another  use  made  of  the  school- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  191 

houses  is  to  afford  room  for  properly  organized 
clubs,  gathered  from  the  gangs  of  street-boys,  with 
the  obvious  effect  of  making  them  orderly.  In  fact, 
the  aim  is  to  make  all  these  agencies  contributory 
factors  in  developing  useful  citizens.  Chicago  is 
likewise  providing  large  and  well-equipped  club- 
houses, each  to  contain  an  assembly-hall,  gymna- 
sium, lunch,  bath,  and  club  rooms.  These  are  to 
be  located  in  small  parks,  where  they  can  be  the 
centre  for  social  activity  in  districts  inhabited  by 
wage-earners.  The  aim  is  to  make  these  club-houses 
available  for  the  use  of  the  people,  as  well  as  object- 
lessons  in  beauty  and  cleanliness. 

Furthermore,  the  employees  of  labor  can  increase 
the  efficiency  of  their  workmen  by  providing  for 
their  legitimate  needs.  In  one  of  the  cities  of  the 
Central  West  a  manufacturing  establishment  decided 
on  economic  grounds  to  give  its  employees  free  cof- 
fee and  a  warm,  attractive  room  in  which  to  eat 
their  lunch,  as  a  substitute  for  the  accommodations 
of  the  saloon  located  opposite  each  of  the  four  gate- 
ways leading  to  the  factory.  The  method  was  em- 
inently successful,  and  in  a  short  time  each  of  the 
four  saloons  went  out  of  business.  Take  another 
instance:  an  employer  of  about  a  hundred  men  in 
a  small  town  in  Massachusetts  found,  to  his  annoy- 
ance and  loss,  that  his  men  were  frequenting  a  sa- 
loon opposite  his  factory  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  In 
order  to  counterbalance  the  saloon  influence,  he 
erected  a  small  but  attractive  building  near  his  fac- 
tory. He  put  in  an  ice-chest  and  kept  it  supplied 


192  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

with  ginger  ale  and  other  non-intoxicating  drinks. 
The  workmen  would  go  to  the  ice-chest  and  take 
therefrom  a  bottle  of  any  desirable  drink  and  drop 
three  cents  for  it  in  a  box  provided  for  the  purpose. 
This  self-supporting  substitute  became  so  popular 
with  the  workmen  that  the  saloon  was  obliged  to 
close. 

Again,  the  Trades  Unions  have  a  greater  oppor- 
tunity to  meet  the  social  needs  of  its  members  than 
the  saloons.  The  allegation  that  the  saloon  is  the 
poor  man's  club  ought  to  be  resented  by  wage-earn- 
ers. Men  are  likely  to  be  kept  poor  so  long  as  they 
share  largely  of  their  daily  wage  with  the  saloon. 
The  fact  is  that  the  saloon-keeper  is  moved  more 
by  greed  than  by  hospitality.  The  thinly  clad  and 
hungry  men  and  haggard  women  without  money 
find  no  shelter  in  the  saloon,  but  are  ejected  as  loaf- 
ers. It  is  sheer  mockery  to  speak  of  it  as  the  poor 
man's  club.  Many  labor  leaders  are  aware  of  the 
fact,  and  are  encouraging  the  men  to  remain  away 
from  the  saloon.  In  places  where  the  public  mind 
is  not  sufficiently  awakened  to  establish  places  of 
rendezvous  for  the  common  people,  private  benefi- 
cence and  encouragement  on  the  part  of  citizens 
should  lead  the  way  to  provide  in  the  business  cen- 
tres suitable  rooms  as  social  centres,  on  the  first  floor, 
with  tables,  chairs,  inexpensive  refreshments,  and 
toilet-rooms.  The  central  thought  should  be  to  meet 
the  social  requirements,  and  to  have  a  place  where 
men  at  all  times  may  find  companionship  and  meet 
to  enjoy  a  social  hour  on  the  basis  of  a  common  hu- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  193 

manity.  The  place  should  be  free  from  all  conven- 
tionalities, offensive  restrictions,  or  thoughts  of  char- 
ity. The  intent  and  names  of  the  financial  backers 
need  not  be  disclosed  to  the  public.  If  these  social 
centres  are  placed  upon  a  purely  business  basis,  they 
can  be  made  self-supporting  within  a  short  time. 
The  defect  with  many  of  the  efforts  along  this  line, 
however  modest  and  unobtrusive,  is  that  they  be- 
tray their  semi-religious  character,  and  consequently 
are  disappointing.  Many  of  the  workers  are  in- 
spired with  an  idea  incapable  of  attainment.  The 
majority  of  men  do  not  wish  to  be  patronized,  cod- 
dled, or  made  the  objects  of  charity.  They  come  to- 
gether to  express  themselves  rather  than  to  be  im- 
pressed. 

There  is  a  crying  social  need  throughout  the 
country  for  public  drinking-fountains  and  toilet- 
rooms.  Friends  of  sobriety  can  do  no  better  social 
service  than  to  awaken  public  interest  along  this 
line,  and  to  induce  public  officials  to  provide  numer- 
ous drinking-fountains  with  a  supply  of  pure,  cold 
water  for  every  month  of  the  year,  and  likewise  es- 
tablish public  toilet-places.  These  conveniences  are 
social  necessities  which  are  not  overlooked  by  the 
saloon-keepers.  One  justification  for  the  existence 
of  these  public  utilities  is  the  very  fact  that  many 
saloons  oppose  them.  It  is  known  thp.t  one  drinking- 
fountain  was  the  means  of  closing  two  saloons  ad- 
jacent to  it.  Another  method  for  removing  the  mo- 
tives for  entering  the  saloon  is  for  each  community 
to  provide  a  large,  cheerful  rest-room,  with  easy- 


194          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

chairs  and  couches  as  well  as  water  and  toilet  con- 
veniences for  the  people  who  come  to  town  to  trade, 
or  to  meet  friends.  Many  shrewd  business  firms 
draw  trade  by  fitting  up  attractive  rest-rooms  with 
toilet  conveniences  for  their  customers. 

Civil  authorities,  corporations,  and  others  should 
see  to  it  that  inexpensive  houses  are  built  outside 
of  the  congested  districts  of  cities  so  that  artisans, 
clerks,  and  employees  may  be  induced  to  buy  them. 
When  men  become  thrifty  and  own  a  home  they  get 
rooted  in  the  soil  and  make  better  citizens  and  take 
a  deeper  interest  in  neighborhood  surroundings. 
More  important  still  is  the  need  of  mothers  who  will 
have  a  greater  concern  and  interest  in  training  their 
sons  to  a  life  of  industry,  thrift,  and  manliness; 
mothers  who  will  make  home  attractive  and  adorn 
it  with  a  personality  radiant  with  good  cheer;  moth- 
ers who  understand  hygienic  laws,  and  will  not  de- 
plete the  nerve  force  of  their  sons  by  permitting 
them  to  keep  late  hours,  or  to  have  their  appetites 
and  passions  overstimulated  by  the  use  of  unwhole- 
some food  or  any  intoxicating  drinks;  mothers  who 
will  keep  in  close,  sympathetic  touch  with  their  sons' 
thought-life  and  struggles;  mothers  who  understand 
and  teach  that  self-mastery  is  the  highest  law  of  life, 
and  that  the  moral,  dynamic  power  and  adequate 
motive  to  gain  it  come  only  through  maintaining  a 
normal  but  intimate  relation  with  the  Heavenly 
Father. 

We  are  led  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that  sa- 
loons cannot  be  abolished  by  rival  substitutes.  Men 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  195 

of  drink  habits  prefer  the  old  haunts.  Experience, 
however,  proves  that  those  who  are  not  already  pa- 
trons of  saloons  will  respond  to  higher  motives  than 
that  of  intoxicating  liquors.  The  increased  facility 
for  providing  good  tenements,  wholesome  food  and 
water,  and  public  conveniences,  together  with  the 
methods  of  furnishing  social  centres  and  educational 
privileges,  will  rob  the  saloon  of  many  of  its  attrac- 
tions and  make  all  efforts  for  saloon  suppression 
much  easier  to  accomplish. 


196  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

CHAPTER  XII 
SIGNS  OF  PROMISE 

For  right  is  right  since  God  is  God; 

And  right  the  day  must  win; 
To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty, 

To  falter  would  be  sin. 

—  F.  W.  FABER. 

A  wave  of  prohibition  is  sweeping  over  this  country  from  one 
end  to  the  other  that  threatens  to  engulf  and  carry  to  destruction 
the  entire  whisky  enterprise.  It  is  growing  stronger  each  day,  and 
each  day  towns  and  cities,  counties,  and  even  states,  are  added  to 
that  class  in  which  the  whisky  business  cannot  be  carried  on 
legitimately. —  BONFORT'S  WINE  AND  SPIRIT  CIRCULAR. 

Turn  now  to  the  temperance  revolution.  In  it  we  shall  find  a 
stronger  bondage  broken,  a  viler  slavery  manumitted,  a  greater 
tyrant  deposed  —  in  it  more  of  want  supplied,  more  disease  healed, 
more  sorrow  assuaged.  By  it,  no  orphans  starving,  no  widows 
weeping;  by  it,  none  wounded  in  feeling,  none  injured  in  interest. 
Even  the  drammaker  and  dramseller  will  have  glided  into  other 
occupations  so  gradually  as  never  to  have  felt  the  change,  and  will 
stand  ready  to  join  all  others  in  the  universal  song  of  gladness. 
—  LINCOLN. 

IT  seems  befitting  in  the  closing  chapter  to  sur- 
vey briefly  some  of  the  encouraging  tokens  of 
progress  for  saloon  suppression.  The  perils 
have  been  pointed  out,  but  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  ruin  and  disaster  will  come.  It  is  always 
well  to  face  the  facts  and  be  prepared  to  meet  them 
courageously.  Although  the  dangers  of  the  saloon 
to  society  are  serious  and  cannot  be  minimized,  yet 
the  total  influence  of  the  social  forces  at  work  is  on 
the  side  of  sobriety  and  good  order.  The  founda- 
tion of  this  optimism  will  be  more  apparent  as  we 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  197 

refresh  our  memories  with  some  of  the  advance 
steps  already  taken  and  discover  in  the  signs  of  the 
present  social  status  a  prophecy  of  final  victory. 

Among  the  many  tokens  of  encouragement  is  that 
of  the  growing  appreciation  of  the  virtue  of  temper- 
ance and  abstinence  from  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors.  There  is  much  less  drinking  of  alcoholic 
liquors  at  public  dinners,  clubs,  and  public  func- 
tions than  formerly.  Drunkenness  is  no  longer  con- 
sidered a  weakness,  but  a  reproach.  The  facts  show 
clearly  that  the  ideals  of  manhood  are  changing  for 
the  better.  Then,  too,  the  foremost  physicians  and 
scientists  strongly  condemn  the  beverage  use  of  in- 
toxicating liquors.  The  British  Medical  Journal 
voices  a  growing  conviction  among  physicians  in 
these  words,  "  If  you  cut  off  the  moderate  supply  of 
alcohol  entirely,  you  diminish  the  death  and  sick 
rates  one  half."  Upwards  of  15,000  physicians  of 
England  have  lately  signed  a  petition  for  the  com- 
pulsory study  of  hygiene  and  temperance,  like  that 
required  in  America,  in  all  the  public  schools  of  the 
United  Kingdom. 

Furthermore,  the  business  world  is  a  powerful 
opponent  of  the  saloon.  In  nearly  every  branch  of 
business  drinking-men  are  not  tolerated  and  drunk- 
ards receive  little  or  no  consideration.  For  business 
reasons  alone  employers  of  labor  are  demanding 
men  whose  brains  are  not  muddled  through  drink. 
More  than  a  million  employees  on  the  railroads  are 
placed  under  absolute  abstinence  and  forbidden  to 
visit  saloons.  The  same  requirements  are*  made 


198  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

virtually  of  mail  carriers  and  postal  clerks,  except 
in  the  line  of  official  duty.  The  example  is  extend- 
ing to  other  lines  of  business.  Merchants  and  man- 
ufacturers who  are  intent  and  alert  are  adopting 
the  same  measures.  The  strenuous  demands  of 
economy  and  good  service  help  to  enforce  the  rules 
for  total  abstinence.  Men  who  drink  are  discounted. 
And  they  find  it  more  and  more  difficult  to  secure 
employment  in  any  desirable  business.  The  influence 
of  the  anti-saloon  movement  is  greatly  strengthened 
by  the  determination  of  captains  of  industry  not  to 
employ  men  who  drink. 

The  sky  is  red  with  promise  as  we  think  of  the 
general  spirit  of  reform  sweeping  over  the  country. 
Good  citizens  express  a  stronger  desire  than  ever 
before  for  a  clean,  honest,  and  efficient  public  serv- 
ice. They  are  aroused  to  a  deeper  sense  of  their  po- 
litical duties.  The  Municipal  Voters'  League  of 
Chicago  has  secured,  by  endorsement,  the  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  who  work 
in  the  interests  of  the  city.  Similar  organizations 
are  multiplying  in  other  cities,  with  excellent  results. 
Throughout  the  country  there  is  a  growing  move- 
ment for  civic  righteousness.  The  day  is  rapidly 
passing  when  a  corrupt  man  can  run  successfully 
for  any  public  office.  The  cleaner  a  man  is  morally 
the  stronger  he  is  as  a  party  candidate.  The  late 
Senator  Hoar  testifies  to  the  growth  of  temperance 
sentiment  among  public  men  in  these  words :  "  When 
I  first  entered  Congress,  in  1869,  the  practice  of 
whisky-drinking  prevailed  very  largely  here,  and 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  199 

the  drinking  at  dinner-parties  and  on  social  occa- 
sions was  very  heavy.  There  has  been  a  wonderful 
change  in  all  that.  The  men  from  the  South  and 
West,  where  the  temperance  reform  spread  some- 
what later  than  in  the  North  and  East,  are  uniformly 
temperate.  Many  of  them  are  entirely  abstinent 
from  every  form  of  strong  drink.  I  do  not  know  a 
man  to-day  in  either  house  of  Congress  whose  coun- 
tenance bears  the  indication  that  he  is  an  habitual 
drinker  of  whisky.  I  could  have  counted  a  good 
many  in  both  houses  of  Congress  thirty-five  years 
ago."  Again,  the  public  press  and  some  popular 
magazines  are  exposing  official  corruption  in  many 
cities  and  States,  and  thereby  awakening  a  stronger 
civic  pride.  Signal  victories  for  law,  order,  and  de- 
cency are  won  by  mayors,  attorneys,  and  other  civil 
authorities.  These  facts  are  a  triumph  for  good 
citizenship,  and  point  to  the  good  time  coming  when 
organized  iniquity  shall  be  banished  from  society. 

Another  good  indication  of  moral  progress  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  cit- 
izens to  the  saloon  is  finding  expression  in  munic- 
ipal ordinances,  in  statutory  enactments,  and  in 
Congressional  acts.  Heroic  statesmen  are  standing 
on  the  public  platform  and  in  legislative  halls  and 
discussing  in  a  fearless  manner  the  merits  of  saloon 
suppression.  The  general  adoption  of  local  option 
in  nearly  all  of  the  States  is  giving  the  people  a  fight- 
ing chance  to  drive  out  the  saloon  by  applying  this 
democratic  principle.  Congress  also  has  enacted 
laws  forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor  in  or  adjacent  to 


200  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

any  government  building  or  reservation.  The  army 
canteen  has  not  been  abolished,  but  the  sale  of  in- 
toxicants in  them  has  been  prohibited.  This  neg- 
ative work  has  been  followed  by  positive  acts.  To  im- 
prove the  canteen  and  to  make  it  attractive  and  help- 
ful to  the  soldier,  $1,850,000  has  been  appropriated. 
These  advances  in  legislation  will  become  the  com- 
mon property  of  civilization.  Other  nations  will 
profit  by  our  experience. 

Another  sign  of  coming  victory  and  triumph  over 
the  saloon  is  the  spirit  of  unity  abroad  among  the 
churches.  This  unity  of  spirit  is  revealing  itself 
in  the  fraternal  and  practical  cooperation  of  the 
churches  for  the  overthrow  of  the  saloon.  Radiant 
hope  is  enkindled  by  the  federation  of  the  various 
denominations  to  work  out  this  specific  problem. 
Protestants  and  Catholics,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  have 
not  only  declared  their  willingness  to  cooperate, 
but  in  some  States  are  actively  at  work  to  suppress 
the  beverage-liquor  trade.  The  recent  achievement 
brought  about  by  the  organized  opposition  of  the 
churches  to  the  saloon  is  only  one  of  the  many  en- 
couraging signs  of  the  times. 

In  the  not  distant  future  the  saloon  will  be  ban- 
ished from  society,  but  the  hope  for  reform  of  the 
drink  habit  will  come  through  an  evolutionary  proc- 
ess. Relative  abstinence  will  be  attained  by  an 
easy  and  natural  method.  The  gradual  spread  of 
information  relative  to  the  evil  physical  effects  of 
the  beverage  use  of  intoxicants,  as  well  as  the  growth 
of  refinement  among  the  masses,  will  induce  indi- 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  201 

vidual  temperance  on  a  large  scale.  Personal  absti- 
nence from  intoxicants  is  the  basal  principle  in  the 
reform.  The  scientific  instruction  regarding  the  use 
of  alcoholic  liquors  now  going  on  among  the  millions 
of  pupils  in  the  public  schools  in  every  State  of  the 
Union  is  gradually  changing  the  social  customs  for 
the  better.  The  plan  provides  that  each  pupil  shall 
have  three  hundred  and  thirty  lessons,  distributed 
through  nine  years,  for  the  study  of  physiology  and 
hygiene,  and  one  fourth  of  this  time  is  given  to  the 
study  of  alcohol  and  other  narcotics.  The  good 
fruits  of  this  work  are  in  evidence.  Those  who  will 
remove  the  bandage  of  ignorance  and  prejudice 
from  their  eyes  regarding  this  work  cannot  fail  to 
discover  that  it  will  greatly  help  to  undermine  the 
foundations  of  the  saloon  system.  Besides  this,  large 
and  flourishing  total  abstinence  societies  are  formed 
in  schools,  churches,  and  young  people's  societies, 
and  are  inducing  hundreds  of  thousands  to  sign  the 
pledge  for  total  abstinence.  The  Catholic  Total  Ab- 
stinence Union  is  adding  thousands  to  its  member- 
ship every  year.  The  children  of  the  annual  confir- 
mation classes  in  the  Catholic  Church  are  pledged  to 
abstinence,  as  well  as  the  young  men  studying  for 
the  priesthood. 

Again,  the  saloon  is  so  repugnant  that  compar- 
atively few  native  Americans  are  identified  with 
the  traffic.  The  saloon-keeper  is  a  social  outcast. 
He  is  forbidden  to  enter  respectable  society,  and 
he  is  barred  from  benevolent  orders,  lodges,  and 
churches.  Some  of  the  State  municipal  codes  forbid 


202          THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

them  to  hold  any  public  office.  The  demands  of 
public  opinion  have  forced  the  liquor-dealers  to  or- 
ganize in  order  to  combat  the  encroachment  made 
on  their  privileges  to  minister  to  the  vices  of  the 
community.  Great  "defense  funds"  are  raised. 
Lawyers  and  others  are  employed,  with  the  view  to 
influence  Legislature  and  to  protect  the  trade.  The 
cry  of  distress  is  heard  from  the  liquor-dealers  all 
along  the  line.  The  liquor  organ,  The  Bar,  voices 
the  general  feeling  of  alarm.  Speaking  of  the  anti- 
saloon  forces,  it  says:  "Let  them  increase  in  like 
ratio  their  numbers  a  few  years  to  come,  and  our 
business  will  be  swept  from  existence.  Every  dis- 
tillery, every  brewery,  and  every  saloon  will  be  closed 
or  compelled  to  operate  as  an  outlaw." 

These  forebodings  are  shared  by  the  president 
of  the  National  Retail  Liquor  Dealers'  Association. 
In  his  recent  address  before  the  convention  held  at 
Pittsburg  he  sets  forth  the  situation  in  these  words: 
"To  be  honest  and  not  to  deceive  ourselves,  if  we 
glance  over  this  great  country  we  find  that  prohibi- 
tion, local  option,  high  license,  and  unjust  legal  re- 
strictions are  in  the  ascendency,  and  growing  more 
popular  in  the  different  States  at  the  present  time 
than  ever  before.  Peer  into  every  city,  town,  and 
hamlet;  then  read  the  city  ordinances;  visit  the  coun- 
cil chambers  in  the  various  cities;  visit  the  different 
Legislatures  and  the  halls  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States;  consult  with  your  law-makers,  and 
you  will  be  astonished  at  the  combinations  arrayed 
against  the  traffic  that  we  represent.  The  truth  is 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  203 

the  enemy  is  gaining  ground  rapidly  upon  us,  and 
we  are  being  overpowered  by  the  tremendous  forces 
battling  against  us;  and  just  as  rapidly  as  they  gain 
ground,  just  that  rapidly  we  are  going  into  decline 
and  being  surrounded  and  hemmed  in  by  these 
adverse  forces."  The  Southern  Liquor  Dealer,  the 
foremost  liquor  journal  of  the  South,  in  its  Novem- 
ber issue  of  1903,  says :  "  At  the  rate  the  liquor  busi- 
ness is  going  on  now  it  will  only  be  a  few  years  until 
the  saloons  will  be  forced  out  of  Kentucky,  except 
in  the  larger  cities.  Since  July  6  there  were  twenty- 
one  local-option  contests  in  precincts,  districts,  towns, 
and  counties,  and  the  'dry'  won  in  nineteen  and 
lost  in  two.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  nineteen  coun- 
ties in  the  State,  sixty  are  without  saloons,  thirty- 
one  with  saloons  but  in  one  place,  fourteen  with 
saloons  in  but  two  places,  and  three  with  saloons 
in  but  three  places."  These  extracts  taken  from 
liquor  organs  are  typical  of  the  general  feeling  of 
the  saloonists  that  their  traffic  in  alcoholic  beverages 
is  on  the  edge  of  utter  oblivion. 

The  people  who  do  not  keep  their  hand  on  the 
pulse  of  reform  are  not  aware  that  a  great  tidal  wave 
of  anti-saloon  sentiment  is  sweeping  over  the  coun- 
try. In  several  of  the  States,  by  the  voluntary  act 
of  the  people,  vast  areas  of  territory  have  suppressed 
the  saloon.  The  State  of  Maine  has  set  itself  right 
on  the  saloon  question.  Prohibition  is  rigidly  en- 
forced throughout  the  State.  New  Hampshire  is  re- 
trieving its  lost  ground  and  the  public  sentiment 
against  the  saloon  is  stronger  than  ever.  Vermont 


204  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

has  no  saloons  in  two  hundred  and  ten  towns.  The 
thirty-three  wet  towns  in  the  State  have  less  than 
100,000  population.  More  than  one  half  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  are  free 
from  saloons.  Rhode  Island  is  making  steady  ad- 
vances toward  sobriety.  Of  the  thirty-eight  towns 
in  the  State,  fifteen  are  "dry."  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  are  faithfully  at  work  developing  pub- 
lic sentiment  and  fanning  it  into  a  flame  of  indig- 
nation against  the  monster  saloon  iniquity  that  has 
fastened  itself  upon  the  vitals  of  these  States.  Nearly 
all  the  Southern  States  have  banished  the  saloons 
from  a  large  section  of  their  territory.  Ninety  per 
cent  of  the  population  of  North  Carolina  live  in  pro- 
hibition territory.  Two  thirds  the  area  of  West 
Virginia  has  no  saloons.  Georgia  has  one  hundred 
and  four  prohibition  counties  out  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seven.  In  Mississippi  sixty-five  out  of 
seventy-five  counties  are  "dry."  In  Kentucky  sixty- 
three  of  the  one  hundred  and  nineteen  counties  in 
the  State  do  not  permit  the  sale  of  liquor.  Tennes- 
see has  eighty-four  out  of  ninety-six  counties  "dry." 
Texas  has  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  prohibition 
counties,  and  the  majority  of  the  others  have  partial 
prohibition.  One  half  of  its  territory  and  one  half 
of  its  population  are  under  local-option  rule.  It  is 
estimated  that  out  of  a  total  population  of  27,000,000 
of  people  in  the  Southern  States,  more  than  17,000,- 
000  are  living  in  prohibition  territory,  and  through- 
out the  entire  country  more  than  30,000,000  of  peo- 


AND    SOCIAL,    REFORM  205 

pie  are  enjoying  comparative  freedom  from  the  sa- 
loon. 

Space  will  not  permit  us  to  speak  of  the  encour- 
aging work  going  forward  in  the  Middle  and  West- 
ern States.  We  cite  a  few  to  show  the  trend  of  the 
great  anti-saloon  movement  now  in  progress.  Ohio 
has  1,371  townships.  Nine  hundred  of  these  town- 
ships, or  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  territory,  have 
no  saloons.  Out  of  the  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four 
municipalities,  four  hundred  and  seventy  are  "dry." 
There  are  five  entire  counties  and  eleven  county- 
seats  without  saloons.  Four  cities  aggregating  a 
population  of  40,000  have  banished  the  saloon.  Un- 
der the  Beal  Law  eight  hundred  and  fifty  saloons 
were  voted  out  of  existence  in  two  and  one  half 
years.  Six  months  after  the  Brannock  Law  went 
into  effect  forty-three  residential  districts  of  cities, 
having  250,000  people,  voted  "dry,"  and  thereby 
excluded  from  their  midst  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  saloons.  Fifty-seven  per  cent  of  the  area  of 
Indiana,  containing  a  population  of  833,000,  are 
without  saloons.  Five  hundred  and  eighty-three 
towns  out  of  a  total  of  nine  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  in  the  State  have  no  saloons.  Sixty  per  cent  of 
the  area  of  the  State  is  "dry."  Iowa  has  ninety- 
nine  counties,  sixty-five  of  which  have  no  saloons, 
and  eleven  others  have  but  one  town  each  in  which 
there  are  saloons.  The  anti-saloon  movement  took 
a  remarkable  stride  forward  in  Illinois  when  the 
various  denominations  of  the  State  federated  to  put 


206  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

up  a  legislative  battle  in  behalf  of  the  principle  of 
local  option  and  to  put  forth  systematic  and  stren- 
uous moral  efforts  to  suppress  the  saloon  in  that 
State.  Hyde  Park,  containing  forty-four  square 
miles,  comprises  one  fourth  of  the  area  of  Chicago, 
and  is  practically  free  from  saloons.  This  is  a  bright 
spot  on  the  otherwise  dark  surface  of  Chicago.  Pro- 
hibition has  been  in  force  more  or  less  in  Kansas 
for  more  than  twenty  years.  The  law  is  enforced 
in  one  hundred  of  the  one  hundred  and  five  coun- 
ties. The  five  counties  where  the  law  is  not  enforced 
have  less  than  six  hundred  saloons.  The  value  of 
the  law  is  apparent.  Forty-four  counties  have  no 
paupers;  twenty-five  counties  have  no  one  in  the 
poorhouses;  forty-five  counties  have  no  occupants 
in  the  jails;  and  thirty-seven  counties  have  no  crim- 
inal case  on  the  court  docket.  The  whole  of  South- 
ern California  is  rapidly  freeing  itself  of  the  saloon. 
Pasadena  and  other  cities  and  towns  live  and  flour- 
ish without  the  saloon.  Northern  California  is  like- 
wise gaining  in  anti-saloon  territory.  Oregon  has 
local  option  by  precincts,  wards,  and  counties.  Whole 
counties  are  voting  out  the  saloons.  Washington 
and  other  Western  States  are  awakening  to  the  per- 
ils of  the  saloon,  and  are  putting  forth  vigorous  ef- 
forts to  suppress  them,  and  gaining  many  signal 
victories. 

All  the  facts  go  to  show  that  there  is  an  enormous 
mass  of  public  opinion  and  a  still  greater  amount  of 
conviction  in  favor  of  abolishing  the  saloon.  The 
cry  that  the  saloon  must  go  is  no  temporary  craze. 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  207 

Instead  of  being  ephemeral,  it  is  the  essential  ac- 
companiment of  a  healthy  moral  public  sentiment. 
The  gravity  and  extent  of  the  saloon  as  a  generator 
of  crime,  an  obstacle  to  progress,  and  a  check  to 
civilization  is  more  and  more  recognized.  The  pub- 
lic conscience  is  unprecedentedly  sensitive  on  the 
question.  There  is  a  strong  and  growing  conviction 
against  it.  In  certain  quarters  even  the  press  is 
averse  to  giving  any  aid  to  the  liquor  traffic.  Out 
of  one  thousand  newspapers  in  the  State  of  Kansas, 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven  will  not  publish  a 
liquor  advertisement  at  any  price.  The  high  morale 
of  the  people  is  asserting  itself.  The  integrity,  virtue, 
and  dignity  of  the  average  American  lead  them  to 
try  and  check  the  drink-habit  tendencies  and  to 
work  with  a  good  degree  of  success  to  eradicate  the 
saloon  evil  from  society.  Those  who  discover  the 
meaning  of  these  facts  will  be  buttressed  with  a  fresh 
faith  in  the  final  victory. 

The  present  situation  cannot  be  understood  with- 
out its  historical  setting.  A  brief  outline  touching 
here  and  there  the  historical  mountain -peaks  will 
be  sufficient  for  our  purpose.  Modern  temperance 
reform  began  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago. 
At  that  time  the  drink  habit  as  a  social  custom  was 
frightful.  Intoxicants  were  served  at  nearly  all  so- 
cial gatherings  and  public  occasions.  The  habit 
affected  all  classes.  "Dr.  Leonard  Woods  could 
count  among  his  acquaintances  forty  intemperate 
ministers,  and  at  an  ordination  in  1841  he  saw  two 
ministers  who  were  indecently  drunk." 


208  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

The  temperance-reform  movement  has  not  moved 
forward  by  leaps  and  bounds,  but  by  slow  and  steady 
advancements.  In  April,  1808,  Dr.  B.  J.  Clark  or- 
ganized in  Moreau,  New  York,  the  first  Union  Tem- 
perance Society.  In  1825  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  de- 
livered six  sermons  on  intemperance  which  were 
"the  tremendous  shots  heard  around  the  world." 
The  result  of  this  and  other  efforts  led  gentlemen  of 
various  Christian  denominations  to  assemble  on 
January  10,  1826,  in  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
to  effect  a  temperance  organization.  On  February 
13  of  the  same  year  the  friends  of  the  movement  re- 
assembled and  organized  "The  American  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Temperance."  Consideration 
of  prudence  held  them  back  from  adopting  a  total- 
abstinence  pledge.  The  following  April,  The  Na- 
tional Philanthropist,  a  weekly  paper,  was  started 
in  Boston.  Its  motto  was,  "  Temperance  drinking  is 
the  downhill  road  to  intemperance."  In  January, 
1827,  Rev.  Justin  Edwards,  D.D.,  visited  many 
cities  in  Massachusetts,  and  by  November  had 
raised  $13,311.53  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  the 
society.  By  January,  1829,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  organizations  were  effected,  extending  over 
sixteen  States.  In  February,  1833,  many  members 
of  Congress  met  in  the  Senate  chambers  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  and  formed  the  American  Congres- 
sional Temperance  Society,  on  the  basis  of  entire 
abstinence  from  the  use  of  spirits  and  from  traffic 
therein.  In  the  same  year  four  hundred  delegates 
from  twenty-one  States  met  in  Philadelphia  and 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM  209 

formed  the  American  Temperance  Union.  In  1836, 
at  the  second  national  convention  at  Saratoga,  it 
was  blended  with  the  national  society,  which  was 
formed  in  1826.  The  society  now  took  distinct 
grounds  in  favor  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intox- 
icants. 

The  Washingtonian  movement  was  started  in 
Baltimore  in  April,  1840,  by  six  reformed  inebriates. 
The  movement  spread  rapidly.  Multiplied  thou- 
sands in  all  parts  of  the  land  signed  the  pledge  for 
total  abstinence:  there  were  60,000  in  Ohio;  29,000 
in  Pennsylvania;  30,000  in  Kentucky;  and  like  re- 
sults followed  in  many  other  States.  From  this 
movement  sprang,  two  years  later,  The  Sons  of 
Temperance,  which  was  followed  later  by  The  Good 
Templars,  The  Temple  of  Honor,  and  other  or- 
ganizations. The  central  idea  was  to  correct  the 
drink  usage  and  to  reform  the  drunkards.  Mean- 
time a  prohibitory  law  was  enacted  in  Maine,  in 
1846,  and  a  more  stringent  one  in  1851.  Similar 
legislation  was  enacted  in  Vermont  in  1852,  New 
Hampshire  in  1855,  and  Connecticut  in  1854.  The 
Civil  War  came  on  and  interrupted  the  reform,  and 
meantime  the  liquor  traffic  gained  a  new  foothold 
in  many  sections.  Very  little  was  done  in  the  re- 
form until  1869,  when  the  National  Prohibition 
Party  was  organized  for  independent  political  action 
against  the  saloon.  The  first  nominating  conven- 
tion was  not  held  until  February  22,  1872.  About 
two  years  later  the  Woman's  Crusade  began,  in 
Ohio,  and  spread  over  that  State  and  finally  swept 


210  THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

over  the  country  like  a  prairie  fire,  and  now  has 
girdled  the  globe  with  the  Woman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union,  which  is  doing  valiant  work  in  edu- 
cating public  conscience  along  temperance  lines. 
Each  one  of  these  movements  has  been  a  successive 
step  in  the  onward  march  of  public-sentiment  build- 
ing, and  has  prepared  the  way  for  more  concerted 
activity  against  the  common  foe. 

In  1893  another  anti-saloon  movement,  under 
the  name  of  the  Ohio  Anti-Saloon  League,  was  in- 
augurated in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  took  definite  shape 
through  the  influence,  faith,  and  zeal  of  Rev.  How- 
ard H.  Russell,  LL.D.  Some  years  later,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1905,  The  American  Anti-Saloon  League  was 
formed  in  Washington,  D.  C.  The  underlying  con- 
ception and  meaning  of  the  movement  was  to  fed- 
erate the  various  religious  denominations  and  tem- 
perance societies  upon  an  interdenominational  and 
interpartizan  basis,  with  the  view  of  maintaining  a 
united  and  aggressive  campaign  against  the  saloon. 
The  work  that  began  so  feebly  and  yet  heroically 
has  gone  on  increasing  in  volume  and  intensity  until 
at  present  forty-six  States  and  Terriories  are  organ- 
ized and  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  persons 
are  giving  all  their  time  to  the  reform.  Nearly  all 
the  leading  denominations  have  declared  their 
willingness  to  cooperate,  and  already  active  and 
successful  work  is  being  done  wherever  the  move- 
ment is  started  under  proper  leadership.  The  move- 
ment, like  others,  had  its  discouraging  period,  but 
has  demonstrated  in  a  preeminent  manner  the 


AND    SOCIAL    REFORM 


soundness  of  its  principles  and  the  efficiency  of  its 
methods.  Its  very  success  justifies  its  existence. 
Doubts  and  suspicions,  apparent  at  first,  have  given 
place  to  welcome  and  encouragement.  The  move- 
ment has  restored  confidence  as  to  the  remedy  for 
the  saloon  evil.  People  who  heretofore  had  grown 
disheartened  are  now  hopeful  and  courageous. 
The  guarantee  of  future  success  and  permanency  of 
the  movement  grows  out  of  the  fact  that,  like  the 
missionary  cause,  it  is  not  an  organization  separate 
and  apart  from  its  constituents  to  exploit  the  people, 
but  a  movement  of  the  churches  that  has  taken 
root  deep  in  the  thoughts  and  hearts  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  membership. 

It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  there  is 
no  easy  victory  ahead.  The  drink  habit  has  touched 
every  State  and  territory,  town  and  hamlet,  and  is 
devastating  our  fair  land  with  its  curse.  The  saloon 
itself  is  intrenched  in  society,  and  this  enemy  will 
contest  every  inch  of  ground.  However,  we  have 
started  in  a  fight  that  can  be  won.  True,  there  will 
be  alternating  lights  and  shadows,  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  be  dismayed.  God  cannot  use  a  discour- 
aged man.  No  reform  ever  made  such  rapid  head- 
way as  this  one.  All  the  forces  of  civilization  are 
arrayed  against  the  saloon.  The  pulpit,  the  press, 
the  public  school,  and  the  public  platform  all  de- 
clare that  the  saloon  must  go.  Besides,  it  is  a  gen- 
erally accepted  belief  that  the  will  of  God  is  to  be 
operative  in  society  to-day,  and  have  a  practical 
issue  in  righteousness.  The  saloon  is  directly  op- 


THE    SALOON    PROBLEM 

posed  to  this  divine  social  ideal.  In  the  midst  of 
the  constant  gigantic  struggle  to  suppress  this  evil 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  there  is  an  invisible  com- 
radeship. Christ  walks  the  highways  and  is  with  his 
people  in  the  conflict.  He  is  a  living  friend  who 
knows  the  trial.  He  offers  us  the  opportunity  to 
cooperate  with  him  and  to  determine  the  destiny 
of  the"nation  and  of  the  world.  It  is  for  each  one  to 
go  forward  with  a  constraining  faith,  an  unwaver- 
ing purpose,  and  a  loyal  spirit  to  manifest  hostility 
to  the  saloon  by  every  honest  effort  and  honorable 
means,  and  thus  prove  worthy  of  the  high  commis- 
sion. If  men  of  all  creeds  and  political  faiths  will 
work  together  in  this  spirit,  the  golden  rule  of  Christ 
will  soon  be  the  golden  age  of  man  —  and  social 
redemption  will  be  an  accomplished  fact. 


Cj)oug!)tsi  g  JHet  on  t^e 


BY     HENRY     NORMAN 

"  The  Negro  Philosopher" 


THIS  volume  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  aphorisms,  observa- 
tions, and  bits  of  every-day  philosophy  which  show  keen 
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interest  attaches  to  the  book  from  the  fact  that  its  author, 
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heartily  commend  the  book  to  thoughtful  readers  everywhere. 
—  Boston  Transcript. 

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